THE National Bureau of Investigation has supported the claim of an informant on the alleged P100-million bribe offer to high-profile convicts to retract their testimonies against Senator Leila de Lima that she had been ambushed and that her wound had not been self-inflicted.
In a press briefing Monday night, witness Lalaine Madrigal Martinez also claimed she had evidence to back her claim about the bribe offer.
And NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin affirmed that Martinez’s gunshot wound was not self-inflicted.
“The abrasion is consistent with the findings of our medico legal and the shot was made from more than three feet,” Lavin said.
He made his statement even as Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II insisted that the high-profile inmates who implicated Senator Leila de Lima in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison when she was Justice secretary had been offered P100 million to recant their testimonies against her.
“The bribe [offer] is true,” Aguirre said.
He said officials of the National Bureau of Investigation had already gathered evidence on the bribe offer, including records of the supposed mobile phone used for it.
He earlier tagged former Senator Jamby Madrigal and Biñan City Rep. Marlyn Alonte-Naguiat as the people behind the alleged offer that was coursed through Lalaine Martinez, wife of inmate Noel Martinez. Both have denied the allegation.
Lavin said the NBI had examined Martinez’s vehicle, and the test showed that the bullet fired on it came from outside.
Before the press conference, NBI officials brought Martinez to the Santa Ana Racetrack in Makati City where the supposed ambush took place.
During the press conference at the National Bureau of Investigation Monday night, Martinez appeared before the media with her face covered due to fears for her safety.
Her right arm was on a sling as a result of the gunshot wound.
“I have evidence and I have a recording,” said Martinez, the wife of Noel Martinez who is one of the convicts who testified against De Lima.