Espenido says Bato also pressed him to back drug raps vs Leila

INTERSECTING NARRATIVES An image of Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido is projected behind former Sen. Leila de Lima (left) and retired Police Col. Royina Garma during Tuesday’s House hearing. —Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido on Tuesday said former Philippine National Police chief and now reelectionist Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa asked him to make sure his testimony in support of the drug trafficking charges against former Sen. Leila de Lima jibed with that of confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.

Responding to Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, Espenido said he was also retracting all the statements he made against De Lima in a 2016 Senate investigation, which were used in building cases against her during the early part of the Duterte administration.

For consistency

Espenido and De Lima appeared before Tuesday’s House quad committee hearing, where she challenged him to “tell the truth” about his role in the three cases filed by the Department of Justice which were later dismissed by the Muntinlupa City court.

“There’s also a testimony coming from Kerwin Espinosa that you and him were instructed to talk with each other to make sure that your testimonies against Senator De Lima are consistent. Do you confirm this? Yes or no?” Luistro asked the police official at one point.

“I confirm, Your Honor,” Espenido said.

He also answered yes when asked if he was “retracting all the testimonies” he had made against De Lima.

Espinosa also recanted in May 2022 and, in a House quad committee hearing on Oct. 11, disclosed that Dela Rosa pressured him to speak against De Lima.

‘Vindication’

Espenido was the police chief of Albuera town, Leyte, when he produced a photo of De Lima with the Espinosa family at Baguio City’s Burnham Park as supposed evidence of her ties to drug trafficking.

De Lima, however, dismissed the photo as just one of those taken of her with people she would meet in public encounters.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, De Lima described Espenido’s statement as further “vindication” on her part.

“Here is a witness directly implicating [Dela Rosa] in the coercion to point to me,” De Lima said. “But my belief is that it’s not only at the level of Senator Bato. I’m sure former President Rodrigo Duterte himself has ordered Dela Rosa.”