PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa said Friday, March 16, that government prosecutors should have at least informed them that the case was weak against self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, Cebu businessman Peter Lim and others before dismissing it.
Dela Rosa said the police and the Department of Justice (DOJ) should work as a team, especially on such a high-profile case.
“Bakit hindi kami kaagad sinabihan na, dapat before pa baka pwede kami sabihan na mahina itong kaso ninyo, dagdagan ninyo kasi kailangan ito dagdagan otherwise madidismiss ito. Hindi man kami sinabihan,” he said.
(Why were we not advised that the case was weak? They should have warned us that it would be dismissed so that we could have strengthened it.)
“Oo nga trabaho ng CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) mangalap (ng ebidensya) or still pwede rin nila sabihin na hindi kami duty bound mag-advise sa CIDG na mahina ang kaso ninyo pero dapat konsensiya naman. Alam ninyo na ito ay malaking drug lord. In your appreciation mahina ang ebidensya baka pwede naman kahit itext lang si (CIDG director Roel) Obusan na idi-dismiss namin itong kaso niyo mahina itong kaso ninyo,” he added.
(They might not be duty-bound to advise the CIDG, but they should at least listen to their conscience. They could have just sent a text message to CIDG director Roel Obusan to warn him that the case would be dismissed because it is weak.)
In a resolution dated December 20, then state prosecutors Michael John Humarang and Aristotle Reyes ordered the dismissal of the drug charges filed by the CIDG-Major Crimes Investigation Unit (MICU) against Espinosa, Lim, Peter Co, Marcelo Adorco, Max Miro, Lovely Impal and at least 15 others including their alleged accomplices due to inconsistencies in the witness’ statement and for lack of evidence.
The ruling was approved by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rassendell Rex Gingoyon and Acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan, Jr.
The CIDG said they received a copy of the resolution only on February 7, nearly two months after it was issued.
Earlier, Reyes said they were just being fair because advising the CIDG that the case was weak would mean they are biased.
Dela Rosa said he and President Rodrigo Duterte were not formally informed about the matter and learned about it only through news reports.
“Si Presidente I tell you nung nagalit si Presidente tingnan nyo kamay ni presidente namaga. Nung nagalit s’ya nung nalaman n’ya sinuntok n’ya ‘yung wall ng Malacanang sa galit n’ya,” he said.
(The President was furious. Look at his hand. It is swollen because he punched the wall in Malacañang.)
Duterte earlier told Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to review the case or risk being detained in lieu of Espinosa.
Espinosa is the son of the late Albuera Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., who was shot dead by CIDG agents in a pre-dawn search of his detention cell in Baybay, Leyte on November 5, 2016.
The older Espinosa had surrendered to Dela Rosa and admitted his son’s involvement in the illegal drugs operations in their area.
Dela Rosa said he does not believe that the prosecutors involved were paid to dropping the case.
“Well, (those are) speculations lang yan. Wala man tayong nahawakan na ebidensya. Galing yan sa mga tao na disenchanted sa lumabas na resolution nag-isip sila kaagad na ganun. Wala naman tayo ebidensya na it happened in fairness naman sa DOJ. Kathang-isip lang yan mga taong dissatisfied with that kind of resolution,” he said.
(In fairness to the DOJ, we do not have evidence. That comes from people who were disenchanted by the DOJ resolution.) (SunStar Philippines)