Senator Leila De Lima's driver Ronnie Dayan allegedly owned a 2-story white house in Barangay Galarin, Urbiztondo, Pangasinan province.
The neighbors of Dayan were asked by Inquirer about President Rodrigo Duterte's allegation that the white house was De Lima's gift to his driver but they neither said yes or no.
It was on Wednesday that Duterte said that De Lima and her driver was having a relationship and that Dayan was the bagman of De Lima who was allegedly collecting the pays from illegal drug trade.
Village chief of Brgy. Galarin Rodolfo Licuanan, stated that the children of Dayan live in the orange bungalow house just about 100 meters away from the said white house and was just finished on March this year.
Dayan has two married children and one child that is still in high school Licuanan said.
The Inquirer asked Licuanan if De Lima paid the house for Dayan, the village chief shook his head, “I don’t know,” he said.
Licuanan also claimed that De Lima was staying in Dayan’s house whenever she is present in the town.
“I knew she was around because people would tell me that she was here,” Licuanan said, referring to the time when De Lima was still Department of Justice chief.
Last December 2015 De Lima had distributed the villagers some gifts, Licuanan said and, “A little cash, P50 for the children and P100 for the adults. But she did not go around; it’s the people who went to the house."
Another Urbiztondo resident said Dayan and his family used to live with his parents in a small house in the village.
A resident of Barangay Galarin said that “We would see them on weekends. She would arrive on a Saturday and leave on a Sunday,”
And sometimes, the two would be seen coming in the public market to buy some vegetables and fish.
Provincial police director Senior Supt. Ronald Lee said,“It’s open knowledge in the village who financed the building of that house,” on Thursday during a presscon in Lingayen, Pangasinan.
“He is just a driver and residents say he could not have bought that property by himself,” Lee stated.
During a party in 2014, Dayan had allegedly threatened a village watchman or barangay tanod and punched a police officer because they confronted Dayan for firing a pistol in the party, this is a recorded documents from Urbiztondo police which have presented by Lee.
“We want to be updated on the case,” Lee said.
“Was there really a settlement? There was talk that two government prosecutors went to the police station to settle the case at that time,” Lee added.
Source: MB and Inquirer