Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa delivers a sponsorship speech in the Senate on June 3, 2020. Albert Calvelo, Senate PRIB

MANILA — The leaders of the House Quad Comm on Wednesday said that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has questions to address, especially after Police Col. Jovie Espenido corroborated alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa’s claim that the lawmaker — then national police chief — ordered them to implicate then-Sen. Leila de Lima in the illegal drug trade.

Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, co-chairman of the Quad Comm, claimed that the burden of proof now falls on Dela Rosa.

"Siyempre 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.

(Of course, the burden now lies with Senator Bato. Because Espenido has spoken. It is up to him how he will defend himself)

In Philippine law, the burden of proof is actually on the accuser and the House panels holding joint hearings do not constitute a court. No formal accusations have been made against Dela Rosa, who has denied any wrongdoing in the war on drugs that he led.

Fernandez cited that Dela Rosa, who was Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the launch of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, could use the Quad Comm inquiry as an opportunity to clear his name.

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Dela Rosa, who pushed to head a parallel investigation at the Senate, has said that he cannot appear at the House because of inter-parliamentary courtesy, a tradition where chambers of Congress do not interfere with each other's proceedings.

But Fernandez said Dela Rosa can set that aside, saying members of the House have attended hearings at the Senate in the past.

Fernandez added that if Dela Rosa can address the allegations before the Quad Comm, it would become part of the official record. Otherwise, onlyEspenido’s statementswill be reflected in the House's records.

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"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," he said.

(Unless he does that, 20 years from now, that will be what will be in our records. Their statements outside will not be in the record. At least, if it is in our record, it will have a bearing)

"And that's the reason why we are continuing inviting them over to be part of the investigation."

ESPENIDO'S RETRACTION

During Tuesday’s marathon hearing at the House, Espenido retracted his previous statements made during a 2016 Senate hearing where he tagged 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 a previous Quad Comm hearing, self-identified drug lord Kerwin Espinosa claimed that the former PNP chief pressured him and Espenido to link De Lima to illegal drug operations.

This led to her incarceration from February 2017 until November 2023 on drug cases that have since been dismissed.

Now that Espenido has corroborated this claim, Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, lead co-chair of the Quad Comm, urged Dela Rosa to clarify the matter.

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"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.

(If Col. Espenido tells the Senate what he told the Quad Comm, that could be a huge issue against Senator Bato)

Barbers said that testimonies from witnesses at the Quad Comm hearings are pointing to 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.

(It seems that the charges were trumped up or forced, or the cases could have been fabricated)

De Lima had been saying the same since 2017.

Barbers 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.

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