PNP Chief Bato dela Rosa presents Dayan to the media shortly after his arrest on Tuesday (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO).
Ronnie Dayan who was arrested on Tuesday in La Union confirmed that he and Senator Leila de Lima had a long romantic affair.
“Opo … seven years po kami,” Dayan told reporters during a press conference at Camp Crame after being asked about his relationship with the senator.
Last week, De Lima admitted on television that she had an affair with her former driver-bodyguard.
Dayan was arrested around 11:30 a.m. at Sitio Turod, Barangay San Felipe, San Juan, La Union. The operation was conducted by Crime Investigation and Detection Group-La Union and the provincial police offices of La Union and Pangasinan.
Initial police report said Dayan was brought to the La Union provincial police.
Dayan, a Pangasinan resident, was ordered arrested for snubbing a congressional inquiry into the proliferation of illegal drugs at the New Bilibid Prison, where he was accused of collecting drug money from drug lords to fund De Lima’s campaign. The senator has vehemently denied the allegations.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II encouraged Dayan to tell the truth on what he knows about alleged drug transactions inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
“It is a chance for Mr. Dayan to clear his name, so we encourage him to tell the whole truth of what he knows,” Aguirre said, adding that they are considering admitting him to the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).
He said Dayan is also the key to tie up loose ends in the Bilibid drug transactions, complaints of which have been filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ).