Senator Leila de Lima struggled to maintain her equanimity when she confronted her former lover and driver, Ronnie Dayan, at the Senate on Monday.
But the lawmaker turned emotional when she insisted that she does not know Kerwin Espinosa and appealed to the two men to tell the truth.
Dayan had told members of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs that he collected money from Espinosa for De Lima.
He said it was the former Justice chief who gave him Espinosa’s cellphone number.
“I’m appealing to both of you, tell the truth, that what you are saying that I know you (Espinosa) and that I received money is not true,” De Lima said.
She said the testimonies of Dayan and Espinosa are full of loopholes.
In her manifestation during the hearing, De Lima claimed both men lied.
“These are not cases of simple, minor, innocuous inconsistencies. These are very serious, these are very glaring, these are very irreconcilable versions of your stories about me knowing you,” she said.
“I would enjoy cross-examining the both of you but I’m avoiding that because there might still be an opportunity for your handlers to make your testimonies right,” De Lima said.
“Although I’m telling you I forgive you. I forgive both of you. I forgive all those other Bilibid witnesses who also lied in the House inquiry. I’m not blaming you. I’m not angry with you. It is your handlers who I’m angry at. You are both vulnerable. You are being used to destroy me and I will know in due time who they are,” she added.
Dayan and Espinosa remained calm while De Lima was addressing them.
Leila de Lima: seeking truth?
