Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa denied allegations made by Kerwin Espinosa, an alleged drug lord, claiming he was pressured to link former Senator Leila de Lima and businessman Peter Lim to the illegal drug trade. Dela Rosa refuted these claims, calling Espinosa an unreliable witness and stating that the Philippine National Police (PNP) was not involved in the drug case against De Lima.
Espinosa had accused Dela Rosa of threatening him during a conversation in a vehicle in 2016, shortly after he returned to the Philippines. He alleged that Dela Rosa warned him he could face the same fate as his father, who died in police custody.
Dela Rosa emphasized he only knew of Lim and former police official Vicente Loot’s alleged drug connections through Espinosa himself. Dela Rosa further described Espinosa’s testimony as rehearsed, questioning the credibility of his statements made during the House Quad Committee hearing on extrajudicial killings.
He also dismissed knowledge of a so-called “Davao Model” reward system for drug war operations, which former PCSO general manager Royina Garma mentioned during her testimony. Garma had described the reward system as involving cash incentives for targeting drug suspects, a claim Dela Rosa firmly rejected.