Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa called drug lord Kerwin Espinosa a liar who cannot be a credible witness.
The former top cop-turned-legislator made the statement after Espinosa accused Dela Rosa of threatening him to link former Senator Leila De Lima and businessman Peter Lim to the illegal drug trade at a hearing in the House of Representatives.
“Bakit siya maggawa-gawa ng istorya?”
“Ang masasabi ko lang kay Kerwin Espinosa, sinungaling siya. Kung makapag-istorya siya ng gano’n, makapagsalita siya, akala mo kung sino siyang malinis. Bakit siya maggawa-gawa ng istorya? Samantalang noon ang bait-bait niya nung nasa kustodiya namin,” the lawmaker said.
“Why do I need to force him to implicate De Lima when PNP (Philippine National Police) was not a party in the case build up and the filing of drug cases against De Lima? It was entirely done by the DOJ (Department of Justice). Anong pakialam ko kay De Lima?” the senator added.
He also explained that he has no knowledge on the alleged drug business of Lim and retired police general Vicente Loot who is his fellow Philippine Military Academy graduate.
“I had no idea about Peter Lim and General Loot’s drug business. It was Kerwin Espinosa who volunteered that [information] to me when I asked him where did he get his supply of drugs. He answered me that sometimes he gets it from Peter Lim and sometimes from General Loot. I had no motive to implicate them lalo na si General Loot who is a PMAyer,” dela Rosa explained.
For him, testimonies from a drug lord like Espinosa couldn’t be taken as gospel truth.
“Granting na-dismiss ‘yung kaso niya, still, he remains to be a drug lord!”
“No, [he is not a credible witness]! In the first place, he is a drug lord! Granting na-dismiss ‘yung kaso niya, still, he remains to be a drug lord!” Dela Rosa said.
“Public knowledge naman sa Albuera na drug lord siya at ‘yung tatay niya mismo umamin na matigas daw [ang] ulo ni Kerwin na gusto niya na huminto na sila sa drug business pero si Kerwin ayaw sumunod sa kanya,” he stressed.
Refuting the allegations against him, Dela Rosa said he only talked to Espinosa when he asked the latter if Police Col. Jovie Espenido received money from him.
“Kinonfirm ko lang ‘yung nangyari kay Espenido na [k]ung totoo ba ‘yung sinabi niya na tumatanggap sa kanya ng pera si Espenido… Sabi naman niya masama lang daw ang loob niya dahil pinatay ‘yung tatay niya sa loob ng kulungan kaya niya nasabi ‘yon,” he explained.
Satisfied with the answer, Dela Rosa said he already left the then-detained Espinosa after the conversation.
“Other than that, wala na kaming pinag-usapan. Paano ako mag-kwan pa ako na idiin si Peter Lim…. Anong makukuha ko doon? Meron namang imbestigador na may hawak sa kanya?” he said.
Dela Rosa earlier slammed the House of Representatives’ ongoing investigation into the killings related to the campaign against illegal drugs of the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
He described the House probe as a “fishing expedition” that is meant to crush Duterte’s allies ahead of the 2025 and the 2028 elections.
