DOJ drops drug raps vs Duterte 'kumpare' Peter Lim, Kerwin Espinosa

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 5:50 p.m.) — The Department of Justice has cleared President Rodrigo Duterte's "kumpare" Peter Go Lim, and confessed drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa of drug raps.

 

In a 41-page resolution dated December 20, but released only on Monday, state prosecutors dismissed the complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group against Lim and Espinosa.

 

The DOJ said that the inconsistencies in Adorco's affidavits—that include dates and place of meeting with drug suppler, timeline of drug transactions, volume of drugs involved—are "material matters" of the case.

 

The prosecutors also noted that other than Adorco's testimony, "no other evidence was presented to substantiate or corroborate the alleged illegal drug transactions."

 

They said: "To our view, the...discrepancies in Adorco's affidavits have seriously impaired their probative value and have casted serious doubt on their credibility."

The case is now up for review by the Office of the Secretary of Justice.

 

Aside from Lim and Espinosa, the DOJ also dismissed drug raps against the following:

 

The PNP, in its complaint, tagged Lim as the alleged supplier of drugs to the group of dealers headed by Espinosa. Inmate Co and Impal, meanwhile, were believed to be supplier of drugs to Espinosa's operation in Central and Eastern Visayas.

In 2016, a photo of Lim and Duterte circulated online. Lim said that the photo was taken at a wedding in Cebu where he and the president stood as sponsors.

In an interview with The Freeman, Lim said: “Who doesn’t want to have a photo with the president? It so happened we were in the same wedding. I saw an opportunity. No one in his right mind would dare have a photo with the president if he is into drug business."

In July 2016, Lim met with Duterte at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Davao to clear his name. He was later told by the chief executive to go to the National Bureau of Investigation to clear the allegations against him.

Meanwhile, Espinosa, and his slain father, Albuerra City Mayor Rolando Espinosa, were publicly identified by President Rodrigo Duterte as the biggest drug lords in the Visayas.

 

The elder Espinosa was killed while in jail by members of the PNP-CIDG Region 8 in what the police claimed was a shootout, but the National Bureau of Investigation said was actually a "rub out." Police involved in the shooting have since been reinstated and the charges against them downgraded to homicide from murder.