MANILA- Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday said suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa may be in danger following the death of Espinosa's father, Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa.

Lacson, who earlier said that the death of the older Espinosa smelled of extrajudicial killing, said it is impossible that the killings of Mayor Espinosa; Atty. Rogelio Bato, lawyer of Mayor Espinosa, and inmate Edgar Allan Alvarez who supplied drugs to Kerwin are “unrelated."

• READ: Lacson on Espinosa's death: I can smell EJK

“Hindi pwedeng unrelated at coincidental lamang itong mga insidente na nagkasunod-sunod, mukhang napakalawak nitong koneksyon ng Espinosa, meaning nung namamayagpag sila sa Leyte at buong ka-Bisayaan eh mukhang napakarami nilang contact na masasagasaan dahil lumabas na nga na may mga payola,” Lacson said in an interview on dzMM.

Rolando Espinosa Sr. was killed in his jail cell on Saturday after allegedly firing shots at operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) serving search warrants at the Baybay Provincial Jail.

The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, alleged that there may be a threat to Kerwin’s life since he received information from sources that the father and son share the same records of drug payola.

Kerwin was arrested by Abu Dhabi law enforcers and Filipino anti-narcotics policemen last October 17, in coordination with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

“Once na natungtong yan dito eh nanganganib din ang buhay niyan at marami siyang isisiwalat. Hindi dahil sa gusto natin siyang proteksyunan. Alam naman natin public knowledge na rin yung pagka-involve nila sa illegal drugs. Ang primary interest ko dito eh baka yung pagkapatay na sunod-sunod sa mga taong may kinalaman na ito na nga nauwi sa pagkamatay ng mayor eh may kinalaman sa cover up kasi maraming nababanggit eh,” Lacson said.

(Once he goes home, his life is also in danger and he will reveal a lot of information. It’s not because we want to protect him, we already know that it’s public knowledge that they are involved in illegal drugs. My primary interest is that maybe the consecutive killings on the people related which led to the death of the mayor may be related to the cover up since there are so many people being mentioned.)

Lacson also suspects there are “delaying tactics” being done in Abu Dhabi such as filing of different cases to prevent the younger Espinosa from going home.

Kerwin is currently under the custody of the Interpol and is facing investigation on possible violations done in Abu Dhabi.

He will be transferred to the custody of the Philippine Embassy after the probe.