Former senator Leila de Lima is thinking of filing an action against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, alleging that he pressured a drug lord into falsely accusing her of being involved in the illegal drug trade, resulting in her long-term detention.
De Lima claimed she is presently consulting her legal counsel in a Tuesday television interview that she also shared on social media. “I am inclined to file a case against Senator Bato,” she continued. “A witness has directly and personally, under oath, implicated him.”
Kerwin Espinosa, a convicted drug lord who testified before the House of Representatives, claimed that de Lima was involved in the drug trade because he was ordered to do so by Dela Rosa. Last Friday, Espinosa’s testimony was given at a hearing, and according to de Lima, it validates her allegations that she was falsely charged.
During a Senate investigation, De Lima, who spent the majority of her imprisonment at Camp Crame before being released last year, said she had long known Espinosa, Ronnie Dayan, and former police officer Jovie Espenido had been forced to provide false testimony.
She added, “But if you review that hearing, there were still inconsistencies,” pointing out that the whole scenario was made up. “Let the truth come out—not just in my case, but also regarding the entire drug war.”
The Justice Secretary and former senator questioned why President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration is still reluctant to re-join the International Criminal Court (ICC). In addition, she accused Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, the justice secretary under the Duterte government, of failing to notice the extrajudicial executions connected to the drug war.
In a different social media post, de Lima conjectured that past administration officials might be attempting to thwart the ICC’s investigation because they may have been involved in human rights abuses.
The notion of a Senate investigation into the drug war under the Duterte administration was backed by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III. Pimentel brought up retired police colonel Royina Garma’s recent testimony, in which she stated that former President Duterte had promised prizes for the murder of drug suspects.
On October 4, Garma informed lawmakers that Duterte’s “Davao Model,” which rewards cops who kill low-level drug suspects, was intended to be adopted countrywide. She claimed that each suspect slain earned the officers P20,000.
Pimentel stated that cross-examination of witnesses in a concurrent Senate investigation could helpful in evaluating the veracity of these allegations. He went on to say the Senate could call additional witnesses, including individuals who were brought up in earlier hearings.
While expressing support for an investigation, Senator Bong Go also criticized Garma’s claims, calling them “malicious and unsubstantiated.” Go denied that there was a reward system in place and called for a fair and unbiased examination into the situation.
