(Eagle News) — Police operatives who led the manhunt for Senator Leila de Lima’s former driver-bodyguard Ronnie Dayan said their search operation lasted exactly one month and 12 days before they finally got to him as he hid like a hermit in the mountains of La Union.
“Matagal siyang nagtago sa bundok. Para siyang ermitanyo,” said Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa in a press conference where he presented Dayan to the media late Tuesday afternoon, November 22.
Ironically, one of the areas where Dayan initially hid was a place called Sitio Bato in Barangay Lacong, San Gabriel, La Union, said PNP Chief “Bato” Dela Rosa.
“Nagkaroon ng habulan. Matagal ang chase nila. Nagtago pa sa ilog (si Dayan). Lahat ginawa niya. Pero ang ating operatives magaling na pursuer, hindi sya tinigilan, hanggang nahuli. (There was a chase, a long one. He even hid in a river. He [Dayan] did everything, but our operatives are good pursuers. There was no let-up until he was caught,” the PNP chief said.
The long arm of the law finally caught up with Dayan in Sitio Turod , Brgy. San Felipe, San Juan, La Union. He was arrested at 11:55 a.m., Tuesday, Dela Rosa said.
Police said they were “alerted” on November 17 as to the place where Dayan was hiding in barangay San Felipe in La Union. They then combed the area for “six days and six sleepless nights.”
For Dayan, he said he finally got tired of running. He said he managed to eat only greens while in hiding.
“Nagpahuli na lang ako,” he claimed.
Dayan, who lost a lot of weight, admitted he had an illicit affair with Senator De Lima that lasted for about seven years.
He, however, declined to answer other questions from the media regarding the alleged illegal drug trade where he had been tagged as the former justice secretary’s alleged bagman.
De Lima, in an earlier exclusive interview with GMA News TV’s Winnie Monsod, admitted she had an affair “for a few years” with her former driver-bodyguard, Dayan, who was a married man, saying it was one of those “frailties of a woman.”
