The lawyer of former convict and self-confessed drug user Kerwin Espinosa blasted Senator Ronald "Bato" de la Rosa for making violent threats against his client, who pointed him out as the instigator of the wrongful arrest of former senator Leila de Lima.

Espinosa had implicated De la Rosa as the during a bombshell testimony before the House quad committee last week, implicating De la Rosa, who had accused De Lima of involvement in the illegal drug trade.

A visibly furious De la Rosa refuted Espinosa's allegations, calling him a "liar" and threatening to punch him in the face. Dela Rosa earlier slammed the House probe, calling it a “fishing expedition” aimed at discrediting Duterte and his allies ahead of the 2025 and 2028 polls.

Espinosa's lawyer, Raymund Palad, condemned De la Rosa's remarks, saying that threats of physical harm against a witness were inappropriate for a sitting senator.

De la Rosa, the former police chief who spearheaded the anti-drug campaign under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, also questioned the credibility of Espinosa to stand as a resource person in the ongoing probe at the House of Representatives. 

Palad, however, called De la Rosa's statement "conflicting," pointing out that the Philippine National Police, under De la Rosa's leadership, had used Espinosa as a witness in the Senate probe into the proliferation of illegal drugs at the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) during De Lima's stint as Justice secretary.

"These are the same witnesses they used to prove the illegal drug trade charges against Senator De Lima, and now that these people have recanted on the grounds that they were coerced, he's saying they're not credible," Palad remarked in an interview.

"So it's like Senator Bato's statements are conflicting. When it benefitted him, they were credible. Now that they've recanted, he's saying they're not credible," he lamented.

Espinosa, who was arrested in 2016 over allegations of running the biggest drug operations in Eastern Visayas, was instrumental in the arrest of then-sitting senator De Lima by testifying at the Senate that De Lima was among his alleged protectors.

He previously alleged that De Lima was involved in the narcotics trade in the NBP when she was still Justice secretary. 

However, he recanted his allegations against De Lima during the quad comm's hearing last week, admitting that he wrongfully accused De Lima out of fear for his life.

Espinosa claimed that De la Rosa intimidated him with a fate similar to that of his father, former Albuera, Leyte, mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was shot dead in his cell in November 2016, if he would not cooperate in implicating De Lima.  

The father and son were both included in Duterte's narco-list. 

In addition to De Lima, Espinosa said he was coerced into accusing Cebu-based businessman Peter Lim, his alleged shabu supplier.

Espinosa's false allegations led to De Lima's six-year detention. 

De Lima, a staunch critic of the Davao Death Squad allegedly orchestrated by Duterte during his stint as Davao mayor, was detained in 2017 after being accused of receiving P10 million from former Bureau of Corrections deputy director Rafael Ragos. 

The funds were allegedly sourced from the proceeds of the illegal drug trade in the NBP to fund her 2016 senatorial campaign.

De Lima is now out of jail after being cleared of all charges in the three criminal cases lodged against her.