Kerwin Espinosa. FILE PHOTO
Sen. Leila de Lima on Friday blasted confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa’s admission into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Witness Protection Program (WPP), saying he remains “the most guilty” in the drug trade by his own admission.
De Lima, who Espinosa said had received drug money from him during the senatorial campaign, said the drug trafficker’s own story showed that “he is the one directly involved in the drug trade.”
READ: ‘She even thanked me’: Kerwin claims De Lima aware of delivered money
“So how? How can Kerwin not be the most guilty? Obviously he is. And, just as obviously, the only reason why our laws are being twisted beyond recognition is because they don’t care about the law. They don’t care about right and wrong,” De Lima said in a text message.
De Lima made the statement when sought for comment on the DOJ’s admission of Espinosa into the WPP after he implicated her in taking drug profits. De Lima has denied the charges several times, saying the allegations were part of efforts to destroy her for standing up against President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial policies, acts and statements.
READ: Pimentel: Kerwin Espinosa qualified for state protection
“They only care about destroying the one person who is not afraid to stand up against the abuses being committed by the Duterte administration…This is not about justice. It has nothing to do with criminal prosecution, and everything to do with political persecution,” she said.
De Lima, who has been holding no punches in fighting back in the midst of allegations against her, said the President and his men have been “single-mindedly and myopically obsessed about destroying me.”
“Can you beat that?!! The drug lords get a literal, real-life ‘get out of jail free’ card in exchange for my blood! That just goes to show that this is a game to them. The goal is my utter destruction. The prize is to be in the good graces of their dear lord and savior Rodrigo Duterte. And the end game is to achieve total monopoly of power,” she said.
To date, De Lima is facing at least 16 criminal, ethics and disbarment cases all rooted in drug allegations against her. RAM