MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police on Monday submitted new pieces of evidence that may pin down Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Co, Peter Lim and a dozen others over drug charges.
The Department of Justice at noon on Monday resumed its preliminary probe into the drug case filed by the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. The Office of the Solicitor General served as statutory counsel for the PNP-CIDG.
The complainants also submitted certified true copies of the transcript of stenographic notes on the Senate’s legislative probe on Nov. 23, 2016 to the panel of prosecutors. It was at that congressional hearing that Espinosa narrated his alleged drug transactions.
The CIDG earlier admitted that it had not filed Espinosa’s confession—what the public has deemed as damning evidence against the drug trader—along with their complaint. Vitaliano Aguirre II, Justice secretary at the time, said that it is not the prosecutors' duty to gather evidence, but the complainant’s.
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Witness-respondent Marcelo Adorco’s third sworn affidavit dated April 20 was also filed before the state prosecutors.
Adorco, a former aide of Espinosa, said in his affidavit that inaccurate translations might have led to the “inconsistencies” cited by Assistant State Prosecutors Michael Humarang and Aristotle Reyes, now a Lucena court judge, in earlier dropping the case.
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In the latest affidavit, Adorco was asked questions in Filipino. These were translated to Bisaya by SPO1 Adelyn Omnes.
Adorco was quoted as saying: “There were the same questions given to me but were translated inaccurately. There were questions in Waray that I answered in Bisaya that was then translated incorrectly."
The PNP-CIDG and the OSG also submitted the travel records of Adorco and Espinosa when they left for Thailand.
Adorco said that they met with Lim in Thailand in 2015.
The next preliminary investigation hearing is set on May 15, 1:00 p.m. The respondents are expected to file their counter-affidavits on the said date.
Aguirre, who resigned on April 5, formed a new panel of prosecutors led by Senior Asisstant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera to reopen the case, after public outcry followed Humarang and Reyes’ dismissal of the case.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said that Espinosa’s case will be among his priorities at the DOJ.