Confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa yesterday cleared the name of his slain father and owned up to running a multimillion-peso drug racket in the Visayas.
Facing the Senate inquiry into the suspicious Nov. 5 killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., the younger Espinosa said his father鈥檚 supposed signatures on an affidavit he had executed before his death were all forged.
鈥淢y papa has nothing to do with drugs. I am the only one involved in the illegal drug trade,鈥� he said.
Suspected of running the illicit trade, Espinosa鈥檚 father had surrendered to authorities and died a drug suspect at a subprovincial jail in Baybay City in a predawn police operation on Nov. 5. Several senators believe the mayor was murdered.
The younger Espinosa was recently flown back to the Philippines following his arrest, after hiding for more than four months in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
He said he left the country on June 21 after President Duterte won the election and the killing of drug pushers and users began.
鈥淢y papa was really innocent. I鈥檓 the one who knew everything. I admit to all the wrongdoing in illegal drugs. And my papa knew about it, but he cannot control me because I am at the right age,鈥� Espinosa told reporters.
He said his father knew nothing about his drug business, saying his affidavit was fake. In one of two affidavits that he had supposedly executed, the slain mayor named more than 200 alleged drug protectors and recipients of drug money, including Sen. Leila de Lima.
The younger Espinosa also said De Lima and several police officers were his paid protectors in his own affidavit, saying his account was the right one.
鈥淭his is not my father鈥檚 signature,鈥� Espinosa said of the signature on the alleged affidavit of his father. 鈥淗e is not in a position to say who are involved in my drug trade and transactions in 鈥渟habu鈥� or any kind [of drugs].鈥�
Later in the Senate hearing, the late mayor鈥檚 lawyer, Lanie Villarino, told senators that two separate affidavits the elder Espinosa had executed while in police custody鈥攖he first on Aug. 24 and the second on Oct. 3鈥攂ore forged signatures.
鈥淚 can say that those were not the signatures of my client,鈥� Villarino said in response to Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon, who noted the stark difference between Mayor Espinosa鈥檚 signatures on the two documents.
Ready-made affidavit
She reiterated the earlier statements of Espinosa鈥檚 brother, Ramon, who had said in media interviews that the mayor was given a ready-made affidavit.
The lawyer said Mayor Espinosa was not assisted by counsel when he executed the supposed document.
Police, however, claimed that Mayor Espinosa was provided the assistance of a lawyer from the Public Attorney鈥檚 Office (PAO), information later denied by a PAO representative at the hearing.