(UPDATED) Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday said a former senator allegedly offered P100 million for high-profile inmates to recant their allegations linking Senator Leila de Lima to a narcotics trade inside New Bilibid Prison.

"High-profile Bilibid inmates at AFP Custodial Center were offered P100 million to recant in favor of Senator De Lima on or before Feb. 25, 2017," Aguirre said.

The justice chief claimed the offer was first made yesterday, "allegedly by a former senator" who is allied with De Lima.

"Offer repeated again this morning through [inmate Clarence] Donggail."

Aguirre said the convicted crime lords refused to contradict their House testimonies that De Lima accepted millions of drug payoffs when she was still justice secretary.

Their testimonies were cited in 3 drug trafficking charges filed by the justice department against the senator last week.

DE LIMA TO AGUIRRE: SHOW PROOF OR SHUT UP

De Lima has repeatedly denied the allegations, which she said were orchestrated by the Duterte administration in retaliation for her criticism of the war on drugs.

She also accused Aguirre of being a "coddler" of drug lords following reports that the inmates were given perks after testifying against her.

Reacting to Aguirre's latest "outlandish and hysterical" accusations, she also told the justice secretary to "shut up" unless he can show proof against her.

"I could not help but laugh at this another outlandish and hysterical story being fed to the media. Obviously, it should not warrant any air time or editorial space unless Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre can provide verifiable proof, and not just mere hearsay," she said.

"I dare Aguirre to name names and show proof, otherwise he too should shut up!"

• De Lima to Aguirre: Who’s the drug lord coddler now?

-- Report from Johnson Manabat, DZMM