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Kerwin Espinosa claims Bato coerced him to tag De Lima in drug trade

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Jose Miguel Dumaual

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/frmeYdupvI4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">MANILA (UPDATED) — </span>Alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa on Friday claimed that former national police chief and now-Senator Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; dela Rosa coerced him to link Leila de Lima in the illegal drug trade, which led to her years-long detention.</p><p>Aside from De Lima, Dela Rosa also forced him to implicate businessman Peter Lim, Espinosa claimed in his bombshell testimony as a resource person of the House quad-committee investigating the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte.</p><p>According to Espinosa,  Dela Rosa, the chief implementer of Duterte&#x27;s anti-drugs campaign, pressured him to pin De Lima and Lim on November 17, 2016. At the time, Espinosa had just returned from Abu Dhabi and was facing drug-related charges.</p><div><a data-darkreader-inline-color="" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/17/16/kerwin-espinosa-nabbed-in-abu-dhabi" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(93, 155, 192);text-decoration:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#69a2c5">Kerwin Espinosa nabbed in Abu Dhabi</a></div><p>Recalling he was escorted by police upon his return, Espinosa told the joint panel: &quot;Ang sumundo sa akin, si General Bato, inakbayan niya ako papunta sa sasakyan na Land Cruiser na puti, na bullet-proof.</p><p>&quot;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, &#x27;Aminin mo na sangkot ka sa kalakaran sa droga dito sa Pilipinas,&#x27; at idawit ko si Peter Lim at si Leila de Lima para madiin na sila.&quot;</p><p>Espinosa then claimed that Dela Rosa threatened that if he didn&#x27;t go along with the plan, he would meet a similar fate as his father, the slain Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa.</p><p>Rolando was killed during a raid in his jail cell in Leyte on November 5, 2016, after he was accused by Duterte as having involvement in the drug trade.</p><p>&quot;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,&quot; Espinosa said.</p><div><a data-darkreader-inline-color="" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/05/16/kerwin-espinosa-suspects-father-signed-affidavit-out-of-fear" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(93, 155, 192);text-decoration:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#69a2c5">Kerwin Espinosa suspects father signed affidavit out of fear</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"/><a data-darkreader-inline-color="" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/28/22/kerwin-espinosa-recants-allegations-vs-de-lima-counsel" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(93, 155, 192);text-decoration:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#69a2c5">&#x27;Not true&#x27;: Kerwin Espinosa recants all allegations vs De Lima, says lawyer</a></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">‘<strong>SUNTUKIN KO SIYA SA MUKHA SA KANYANG KASINUNGALINGAN’ </strong></span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">Dela Rosa fired back at Espinosa, saying, “Sabihan mo siya na ‘pag makita ko siya suntukin ko siya sa mukha sa kaniyang kasinungalingan.”</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">“‘Pag magkita kami suntukin ko siya sa mukha. Sobrang sinungaling siya,&quot; Dela Rosa told Senate reporters in a phone patch interview released by his office.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">He said that while he visited Espinosa at his detention facility, they only talked about why the latter had accused former Albuera, Leyte police chief Jovie Espenido of accepting drug money. </span><br/><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">“Pinuntahan ko siya doon sa CIDG, tinanong ko kung totoo ba yung sinabi niya. Eh sabi naman niya masama lang daw yung loob niya dahil pinatay yung tatay niya sa loob ng kulungan kaya niya nasabi yun,” Dela Rosa said. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">“Ang totoo daw eh ‘pag tine-text niya si Espenido kung nangangailangan ng pera, papadalhan niya ng pera, di daw sumasagot. Ang sinasagot daw mga Bible verses, yun ang kuwan niya sabi niya.” </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">The senator added, “Bakit sinasabi niya na…mayroon akong gusto idiin? Eh boluntaryo siyang nagbibigay ng mga impormasyon doon sa naghahawak sa kaniya.” </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:transparent">He maintained he would “never” attend the House investigations.</span></div><p><br/>During the hearing, Espinosa apologized to De Lima for his supposedly false testimonies.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-VeTk5b04rE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span> &quot;Patawarin n&#x27;yo po ako na nadala, nauto-uto sa panahon na &#x27;yun, na idamay ka po, na walang katotohanan naman... Sorry, ma’am. Handa po akong harapin kung ano ang plano mo sa akin po,&quot; he said.</div><div><strong>‘I HAVE FORGIVEN THEM’ </strong></div><p>Meanwhile, De Lima said she is harboring no ill feelings against those who testified against her. </p><p>“I have already long forgiven those who testified against me, and I leave up to the Almighty to deal with them. I know that they were forced to do that because their lives and the lives of their families were at stake, as consistently mentioned by all the witnesses who eventually recanted their testimonies,” she said in a statement. </p><p>It is a different matter, however, for those who instigated the “trumped up” cases against her. </p><p>“Those who abused their power, including President Duterte, and now Senator Bato Dela Rosa, must face accountability for, among others, manufacturing evidence against me,” she said. </p><p>“It is time to make them pay for the travesties they have committed towards our justice system.”</p><p><span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor="" data-darkreader-inline-color="" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;--darkreader-inline-color:#e8e6e3;--darkreader-inline-bgcolor:#181a1b">De Lima in June was cleared of the last of her</span> cases, which concerned allegations she took money from inmates inside the country&#x27;s largest prison to allow them to sell drugs while she was justice minister from 2010 to 2015. </p><div><a data-darkreader-inline-color="" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/27/-masaya-dela-rosa-congratulates-de-lima-on-acquittal-1659" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(93, 155, 192);text-decoration:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#69a2c5">Dela Rosa &#x27;congratulates&#x27; De Lima on acquittal</a></div><p>She was a sitting senator when she was arrested in 2017 and spent more than six years in jail while on trial for the three drug trafficking charges.</p><p>She described the cases as payback for her efforts to investigate Duterte&#x27;s drug war, first as head of the government&#x27;s independent human rights body, then as justice minister and during her term as a senator.</p><p>Multiple witnesses, including prison gang bosses, died or recanted their testimony during the lengthy trials.</p><div><a data-darkreader-inline-color="" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/1/duterte-laughs-off-de-lima-quest-for-justice-threatens-icc-anew-1330" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(93, 155, 192);text-decoration:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#69a2c5">Duterte laughs off De Lima quest for justice, threatens ICC anew</a><br style="box-sizing:border-box"/><a data-darkreader-inline-color="" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/2/de-lima-blasts-remorseless-duterte-1640" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(93, 155, 192);text-decoration:none;--darkreader-inline-color:#69a2c5">De Lima blasts &#x27;remorseless&#x27; Duterte: &#x27;You will answer for your crimes&#x27;</a></div><div><strong>— With a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa on Friday claimed that former national police chief and now-Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa coerced him to link Leila de Lima in the illegal drug trade, which led to her years-long detention.</p>

Alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa on Friday claimed that former national police chief and now-Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa coerced him to link Leila de Lima in the illegal drug trade, which led to her years-long detention.

Kerwin Espinosa claims Dela Rosa coerced him to implicate De Lima in drug trade

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Kerwin Espinosa claims Dela Rosa coerced him to implicate De Lima in drug trade

Jose Miguel Dumaual,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 11, 2024 02:33 PM PHT

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Updated October 11, 2024 09:00 PM PHT

Read More:

Kerwin Espinosa

Bato dela Rosa

Leila de Lima

Peter Lim

Rodrigo Duterte

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