Kerwin to pin down De Lima again in Senate probe

Sen. Leila de Lima and suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa INQUIRER PHOTOS

ALBUERA, Leyte—Arrested drug lord Kerwin Espinosa was expected to affirm an earlier statement that Sen. Leila de Lima received protection money payoffs through her driver and lover Ronnie Dayan when he appears again before the Senate next week, his lawyers said on Thursday.

Espinosa is to appear before the Senate for the second time on Monday, or just a day after the burial of his father, Albuera Mayor Roland Espinosa Sr., who was killed in his jail cell in an alleged shootout with police in Baybay City last month.

“He will just reaffirm on what he earlier said—that he gave money to Dayan in August 2015,” said Leilani Villarino, a lawyer for Kerwin. She said Kerwin would explain why he delivered funds to de Lima in 2014, two years ahead of the elections.

Dayan, who had confirmed he received drug money from Kerwin, is also expected to appear in the same Senate inquiry to be chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who heads the committee on illegal drugs and public order.

Kerwin had said he gave drug money to help bankroll the senatorial bid of De Lima, who was then the justice secretary.

Espenido cleared

De Lima has repeatedly denied knowing the Espinosas  and receiving drug money from them.

In a separate interview, Vice Mayor Jonah John Ungab of Ronda town in Cebu, another lawyer for the suspect, denied that Albuera police head, Chief Insp.  Jovie Espenido, received drug money from Kerwin.

Ungab was reacting to a report that quoted national police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa as saying that Kerwin had backtracked from an earlier statement that Espenido was also a recipient of drug money.

He said dela Rosa never said that Kerwin gave money to Espenido and that he may have just been misquoted.

Ungab said that Kerwin told dela Rosa that the money was a donation to Espenido’s church, the Seventh Day Adventists.

Ungab also expressed dismay over reports that Supt.  Marvin Marcos was reinstated as director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Eastern Visayas.

Marcos and the 15 operatives of CIDG-8 are under investigation for the death of Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap.

The CIDG-8 operatives claimed that the two fired at them when they went to their cells at dawn on Nov. 5 to serve a search warrant.

“It sends a bad signal [to prospective witnesses]. There is a pending investigation and there are witnesses that need to be protected,” Ungab said.