Former Senator and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima believes that Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido may have knowledge about the accusations linking her to the illegal drug trade during the previous administration.
De Lima made this statement following the testimony of self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa during the Quad Committee hearing at the House of Representatives.
The former senator suspects that while Espenido had testified in previous Quad Committee hearings, he likely knows more about the irregularities in the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
De Lima specifically pointed to Espenido’s earlier statements during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, where she was allegedly branded as a protector of illegal drug operations.
In Espenido’s initial testimony to the Quad Committee, he admitted the existence of a planned killing of drug personalities under the “quota and reward system” implemented by the Philippine National Police (PNP).