MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa didn’t hold back when he responded to allegations made by Kerwin Espinosa, a self-confessed drug lord. Espinosa testified during a hearing at the House of Representatives, claiming that when De la Rosa was the Philippine National Police chief, he pressured him to falsely accuse former senator Leila de Lima of being involved in the drug trade.
Espinosa, who was arrested in Abu Dhabi for illegal possession of firearms and explosives, said de la Rosa pushed him to make these accusations after bringing him back to the Philippines.
In response, de la Rosa called Espinosa a “drug lord” who shouldn’t be trusted. “I only spoke to him once in his prison cell, and that was about something else. We never had other conversations,” he said in Filipino. De la Rosa dismissed Espinosa’s testimony, saying, “If I see him, I’ll punch him in the face. He talks like he’s innocent, but why make up stories now?”
Despite the strong words, former senator Leila de Lima, who is running in the 2025 elections, believes de la Rosa has to face the truth. She said, “We’ve known for a long time that Espinosa was forced to implicate me, as part of Duterte’s plan. Now, de la Rosa has to face the consequences of the lies told against me.”
Espinosa also claimed that de la Rosa pressured him to link Cebu businessman Peter Lim to the drug trade and admit to being a major drug trafficker.
