Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has significant questions to address, particularly after retired Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido corroborated alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa’s claim that the lawmaker had ordered them to implicate then-Sen. Leila de Lima in the illegal drug trade, leaders of the House Quad Comm said.
Santa Rosa City's lone district rep, Dan Fernandez, co-chairman of the Quad Comm, emphasized that Dela Rosa now bears the burden of proof.
"Syempre ang burden ngayon na kay Senator Bato na. Eh kasi nga nagsalita si Espenido. Nasa kanya ngayon kung paano niya i-dedepensa ‘yung kanyang sarili," Fernandez, chairman of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday.
Fernandez noted that Dela Rosa, who was the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the launch of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, could use the Quad Comm inquiry as an opportunity to clear his name.
"That's the reason why, ‘yun na nga, kung a-alisin niya ‘yung parliamentary courtesy na pwede naman, dahil nga ang ating mga congressman kapag in-invite [sa Senate] pumupunta doon," he said.
Fernandez said that if Dela Rosa could prove his innocence before the Quad Comm, it would become part of the official record.
Otherwise, the congressional records will remain for years, reflecting Espenido’s statements.
"So basically maipo-prove niya sa Quad Comm and it will form part if the records na talagang pinatunayan niya na ‘yung mga sinasabi ni Espenido, walang katotohanan," Fernandez noted.
"Hanggang hindi niya ginagawa ‘yun, 20 years from now, ang makikita ay ‘yung records ng Congress. ‘Yung mga salita nila outside the Congress, hindi na mapapansin yun eh kasi walang record ‘yun. At least ‘yung sa atin, magagamit talaga. And that's the reason why we are continuing inviting them over to be part of the investigation," he said of Dela Rosa.
During Tuesday’s marathon Quad Comm hearing, Espenido retracted his previous statements made during a 2016 Senate hearing, where he implicated De Lima in the illegal drug trade.
Espenido confirmed his retraction in the presence of De Lima, who attended the hearing for the first time as a resource person.
In an earlier Quad Comm hearing, Kerwin Espinosa claimed that Dela Rosa had pressured him and Espenido to link De Lima to illegal drug operations, which led to her incarceration from February 2017 until November 2023.
Now that Espenido has corroborated this claim, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, overall chairman of the Quad Comm, urged Dela Rosa to clarify the matter once and for all, possibly in a Senate investigation.
"Once and for all dapat ma-clarify ‘yan, I don't know kung inimbita rin nila si Senator Leila de Lima doon or maybe siguro na-imbitahan nila si Col. Espenido. Kung maninindigan si Col. Espenido at sasabihin niya ‘yung sinabi niya doon sa Quad Comm sa Senado, kung siya ay matanong, ay mukhang malaking issue ‘yun para kay Senator Bato," he said.
"At dapat meron siyang explanation kung ito'y matatanong at ito'y lalabas na kwento doon mismo sa Senate. So ‘yan ang tingin ko na napaka-importante ang punto rin no," added Barbers.
Barbers also remarked that testimonies from witnesses in the Quad Comm suggest the possibility of fabricated charges against De Lima and possibly other officials.
"Bakit? Kasi lumalabas kung titignan natin ‘yung mga salaysay nung mga witnesses sa quad-comm, lumalabas na parang trumped-up charges, o di kaya ay pinilit, o di kaya ay finabricate ‘yung mga kaso laban sa mga nakasuhan ng droga tulad ni Senator Leila de Lima," Barbers explained.
He further speculated that similar tactics might have been used against other local officials, including mayors who were accused of being high-value targets or drug lords and were subsequently killed.
"At hindi malayo na ginawa rin ito sa iba. Kagaya maaari, maaaring nangyari rin ito sa mayors kung saan, inakusahan na bilang...high-value target or drug lord, kung kaya't siguro sila pinagbabaril at in-assassinate," he said.
"So palagay ko malaki ang implication kapag doon lumabas itong pag-recount ni Col. Espenido mismo sa harap ni Sen. Bato," Barbers added.
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