Senator Leila de Lima on Monday (Dec. 5) made a last-ditch effort to diminish the credibility of self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa and her former driver and lover, Ronnie Dayan, by asking them to admit none of their claims about knowing each other and exchanging money for her senatorial bid were true.
In a manifestation she gave at the hearing of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, De Lima said her colleagues could even protect Espinosa and Dayan if they decided to “tell the truth.”
“If, susubukan ko lang, nag-a-appeal lang ako sa inyo, magsabi na kayo ng totoo; na hindi totoo yung sinasabi ninyong kilala kita, na tumanggap ako, etcetera, etcetera,” she told them.
“As I said, trust the Senate, wala naman kayo ngayon sa PNP, wala naman kayo ngayon sa DOJ, wala naman kayo sa NBI, you are in the Senate now. And if you tell the truth, my colleagues, I think, will protect you. Yan po ang pakiusap ko sa inyo,” she added.
Both Espinosa and Dayan have claimed they met each other a handful of times when De Lima was justice secretary so the latter could get cash from the self-confessed drug dealer for his former boss.
However, there are certain inconsistencies in their testimonies, with Dayan saying he met Espinosa in 2014 while the latter claimed his encounters with De Lima’s former driver took place in 2015.
Even as some parts of Dayan and Espinosa’s accounts don’t add up, De Lima said she doesn’t begrudge them for accusing her of receiving drug money.
Addressing the two witnesses, De Lima said: “Alam ko may mga dahilan kung bakit napipilitan kayong ituro kayo. Hindi ko kayo pipilitin, although I’m telling you I forgive you. I forgive both of you. I forgive all those other Bilibid witnesses na mga nagsinungaling din sa House inquiry. Hindi ko po kayo sinisisi. Hindi po ako talaga ako galit sa inyo.”
The senator said the people she’s mad at were those who supposedly used Dayan and Espinosa to implicate her in the illegal drug trade.
The post Umamin na kayo please: De Lima tells Kerwin, Dayan to admit their testimonies are false in exchange for senators’ protection appeared first on Politiko.