Speaker Davao Del Norte Rep. Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez and Senator Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, the staunch ally of President Rodrigo Duterte at the House of Representatives, slammed Senator Leila de Lima as a “serial liar” amid allegations that she received P8 million from purported drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.
In an interview with TV5 Wednesday night, Alvarez said he was impressed at the tendency of De Lima to make lies as the senator faced a string of allegations that she received drug money from Espinosa, the biggest drug lord in Eastern Visayas, through her driver and lover Ronnie Dayan.
READ: ‘She even thanked me’: Kerwin claims De Lima aware of delivered money | Dayan admits delivering Kerwin’s money to De Lima
“At bilib nga din ako kay Sen. De Lima. Talagang magaling siyang magsinungaling. I think she is really a serial liar,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said while there may be conflicting testimonies, the testimonies point to one fact – that De Lima benefitted from the drug trade.
“Kasi lahat na ng tao nagsasabi na may kaugnayan siya, nagdeliver ng pera sa kanya, tapos ngayon sasabihin niya, deny-deny pa rin niya — pambihira,” Alvarez said.
“At bilib nga din ako kay Sen. De Lima. Talagang magaling siyang magsinungaling. I think she is really a serial liar,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said the testimonies of Dayan and Espinosa corroborate each other.
Dayan has said he gave drug money from Espinosa to De Lima at least five times in 2014. Espinosa said he gave De Lima at least P8 million in 2015 for the justice secretary’s senatorial campaign.
“Well, meron kaming mga tinanong na ilang tanong lang po kahapon at kanina nung pinapanood ko si Kerwin Espinosa ay mukhang nagtutugma naman yung kanilang sinasabi,” Alvarez said.
Dayan was arrested in La Union at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday after he was cited in contempt for snubbing the House of Representatives inquiry on the proliferation of drugs at the New Bilibid Prison implicating De Lima.
READ: Ronnie Dayan arrested in La Union
During the turn-over by the police to the House of Representatives Tuesday night, Dayan admitted receiving drug kickbacks from Espinosa for De Lima, an allegation De Lima said was a lie.
READ: Dayan admits delivering Kerwin’s money to De Lima | Dayan tells De Lima: Stay strong
Bilibid inmates who testified in the House inquiry tagged Dayan as among those who collected millions of kickbacks for De Lima from the drug trade for her senatorial bid.
READ: House cites Ronnie Dayan in contempt; arrest order out
De Lima has vehemently denied the allegations, saying allies of President Duterte had an ax to grind against her since she had crossed swords with Duterte. De Lima as human rights chair investigated the alleged links of Duterte to the Davao Death Squad when the latter was mayor.
But De Lima has admitted to having an affair with Dayan but said both of them were separated from their marriages at the time. De Lima has also expressed fears Dayan might be forced to testify against her. CBB/rga
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