After Several Years, Kerwin Espinosa Retracts Accusation vs. Leila de Lima
KERWIN ESPINOSA – The alleged drug lord claimed that Senator Bato dela Rosa forced him to link former Senator Leila de Lima to drug trade.
Former Senator Leila de Lima was detained in the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Facility for around six (6) years. The detention room of De Lima was the same room where Alice Guo was detained prior to her transfer to Pasig City Jail.
De Lima faced drug allegations. There were several individuals who testified against the then-Senator and linked her to the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison when she was the secretary of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
It is no secret to the public that former Sen. Leila de Lima is a staunch critic of the Duterte administration. She has criticized the former Chief Executive’s war on drugs and there were several instances when they exchanged heated statements.
De Lima was detained at the PNP Custodial Center for around six (6) years until she won the charges against her one by one. Several individuals who pinned down the former Senator also retracted their statements which have contribution to her detention.
Recenty, another person retracted his statement against former Sen. Leila de Lima. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, self-confessed drug lord and the son of the late former Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa, Kerwin Espinosa, changed his statement which implicated the former Senator to illegal drug trade.
Rolando Espinosa was killed during a raid in his jail cell in 2016. According to his son, he was allegedly told by then-Philippine National Police chief Bato dela Rosa to implicate De Lima or he will have the same fate as his father.
According to Kerwin, when he arrived in the Philippines from Abu Dhabi, he faced drug charges. He claimed at the House hearing that he was fetched by then-PNP Chief Bato dela Rosa and they rode a white bullet-proof Land Cruiser.
“Noong sumakay na kaming lahat, si General Bato na sa front seat, ako ay na sa likod, pinagitnaan ako ng dalawang mga pulis, at sinabihan niya ako na, ‘Aminin mo na sangkot ka sa kalakaran sa droga dito sa Pilipinas,’” he said.
Based on the report, Kerwin Espinosa claimed that then-PNP Chief Bato dela Rosa ordered him to implicate then-Sen. Leila de Lima and businessman Peter Lim in the drug trade issue.
“Kapag hindi raw ako sumunod sa plano, puwedeng mangyari sa akin ang nangyari sa ama ko, o isa sa mga pamilya ko ang mamatay din,” he said.
As of this writing, Dela Rosa has not reacted to the claim of Espinosa. The Senator is also facing an issue on the probe of the ICC over the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. Former Sen. Trillanes previously slammed Bato dela Rosa and former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte over the ICC investigation.