PNP to check Espinosa’s claim that cops threatened him to testify vs De Lima

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has vowed to look at the recent statements of self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, who said that he testified against Senator Leila de Lima due to threats from police officers.

PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos in an ambush interview on Monday said that they will look into the issue after Espinosa recanted his accusations against the senator, who is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame due to drug-related cases.

Carlos however stressed that Espinosa’s statements are not the only pieces of evidence to consider in the complaints versus De Lima.

“Then we look at it, kasi hindi lang naman ‘yon ang magtatayo ng kaso eh, hindi lang naman ‘yong sworn statement ni Espinosa.  There are other evidences and affidavit that (are) part of the proceedings,” Carlos said.

“So kung ‘yong statement na ‘yon, papatignan namin kaagad sa IAS, sa DIDM,” he added, referring to the Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM).

Espinosa through his legal counsel apologized to De Lima last April 28, saying that any statements he made against the Senator were not true as he and his family were threatened by police.

Earlier too, another witness implicating De Lima in the drug-related charges, former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos, said that he was coerced by former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre into testifying against the senator.

Their statements have been used by De Lima to ask other witnesses to recant their own testimonies against her already.

READ: De Lima to those ‘used’ in her drug cases: Be like Kerwin

Administration officials including no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself claimed that De Lima allowed illegal drugs to proliferate while sitting as justice secretary and in charge of the BuCor and the New Bilibid Prison.

The senator however claimed it was just a case of political vendetta, because she led investigations on Duterte’s drug war in the Senate, and probes on human rights violations when the President was still Davao City mayor.

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