Push Admin

Kerwin Espinosa, who has been linked to the illegal drug trade, turns emotional during the House Quad-Committee hearing on October 11, 2024. Espinosa claims former PNP chief and now Senator Ronald dela Rosa forced him to implicate former senator Leila de Lima in the drug trade leading to her years-long detention. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Kerwin

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/172887439687620241011-espinosa-kerwin-quad-comm-MT-2.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="&#x27;A blessing&#x27;: De Lima says UniTeam split emboldened drug war confessions"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Kerwin Espinosa, who has been linked to the illegal drug trade, turns emotional during the House Quad-Committee hearing on October 11, 2024. Espinosa claims former PNP chief and now Senator Ronald dela Rosa forced him to implicate former senator Leila de Lima in the drug trade leading to her years-long detention. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Former Sen. Leila de Lima on Monday said it was a &quot;blessing&quot; that the &quot;Uniteam,&quot; or coalition of the Marcos and Duterte clans, has crumbled, allowing a political atmosphere that encourages confession about the previous administration&#x27;s alleged misdeeds.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/6/20/-nabasag-yung-uniteam-duterte-resignation-saddens-lawmaker-1900">• &#x27;Nabasag &#x27;yung UniTeam&#x27;: Duterte resignation saddens lawmaker</a></div><p>&quot;The food for thought is if there was still Uniteam, could there be such a proceeding now? I would say it was a blessing that the Uniteam was dismantled because people are now getting emboldened [to confess],&quot; De Lima told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.</p><p>De Lima was referring to the House Quad Committee formed to investigate extrajudicial killings (EJKs) and POGOs, which supposedly originated from the Duterte administration.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/8/28/police-officer-confirms-quota-reward-system-during-duterte-drug-war-1253">• Police officer confirms &#x27;quota, reward system&#x27; during Duterte drug war</a></div><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/gjx9t14FPlE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>During the mega-panel&#x27;s Friday hearing, Kerwin Espinosa, a self-confessed drug lord, confessed that former PNP chief and now Sen. Bato dela Rosa coerced him and other witnesses to implicate De Lima in the drug trade. </p><p>Their testimonies led to the prosecution and detention of De Lima, who was among the most vocal critics of drug war at that time. The former senator was eventually acquitted from all charges. </p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/13/23/leila-de-lima-free-but-still-fighting">• Leila de Lima free, but still fighting</a></div><p>According to De Lima, Espinosa&#x27;s statement was no longer a surprise to her because <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;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;display:inline !important;float:none">she knew from the start that he was testifying against her &quot;on gunpoint.&quot;</span></p><p>&quot;I was no longer surprised. But of course it&#x27;s such a great feeling for me because it means that&#x27;s another vindication for me, it&#x27;s all part of my redemption before the general public... For years they imprisoned me, deprived me of my liberty and they deprived me of my honor,&quot; De Lima said.</p><style type="text/css" id="isPasted">
	p.p1 {
		margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue'
	}

</style><p>However, she admitted still felt some resentment against her former colleagues for allowing themselves to be &quot;used&quot; by the Duterte administration in vilifying her.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/14/bong-go-defends-duterte-after-garma-expos-but-distances-self-from-drug-war-830">• Bong Go defends Duterte after Garma exposé but distances self from drug war</a></div><p>&quot;They might have various motives, it&#x27;s difficult to really be calling out senators but of course masama ang loob ko dyan na they also allowed themselves to be used during that time. [But] everybody was just being scared of Mr. Durerte so nagpagamit yung mga institusyon natin both the Senate and the House of Representatives,&quot; she said.</p><style type="text/css" id="isPasted">
	p.p1 {
		margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue'
	}
	
	p.p2 {
		margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; min-height: 15.0px
	}

</style><p>Aside from her vindication, De Lima also said she felt good that the truth about the brutality of drug war has started to come out. </p><p>&quot;I feel good nowadays, I&#x27;m so grateful to the good Lord that lumalabas na lahat ng katotohanan. Let the whole truth come out, the whole thing, the drug war, how terrible it was, we are all seeing that now,&quot; she said.</p><p>While &quot;official&quot; government data said 6,181 people were killed in Duterte&#x27;s war on drugs, several rights group believed up to 30,000 may have been killed, some innocent victims, and that corruption was allegedly rife among security forces that acted with impunity.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><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><br/></div>

<p>According to De Lima, Espinosa's statement was no longer a surprise to her because she knew from the start that he was testifying against her "on gunpoint."</p>

According to De Lima, Espinosa's statement was no longer a surprise to her because she knew from the start that he was testifying against her "on gunpoint."

'A blessing': De Lima says UniTeam split emboldened drug war confessions

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

News

'A blessing': De Lima says UniTeam split emboldened drug war confessions

Jauhn Etienne Villaruel,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 14, 2024 11:02 AM PHT

Read More:

UniTeam

Leila de Lima

De Lima

ICC

war on drugs

crime

Rodrigo Duterte

Duterte

ANC

ANC promo

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.