By Moira Encina
Eagle News Service
A Department of Justice panel of prosecutors on Wednesday, May 30, granted businessman Peter Lim’s request to be investigated separately from his co-accused in a drug complaint filed against them, but his failure to face the panel on the same day prompted the panel to declare his case submitted for resolution just the same.
In granting Lim’s request to be subjected to a preliminary investigation separate from Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Co, Marcelo Adorco, Max Miro, Lovely Impal, Ruel Malindangan, Jun Pepito, Jermy Amang and several others identified only by their aliases, the panel said there was a need to protect the “respondents’ right to due process.”
But the granting of the motion was deemed nullified after the panel noted Lim’s absence in the hearing, as it said this meant he had waived his right to submit a counter-affidavit.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Co and Espinosa also submitted and swore on the veracity of the contents of their counter-affidavits, which urged the dismissal of the cases against them.
Co denied he was a member of the so-called Espinosa group operating in the Visayas, noting that he does not know Espinosa nor Impal in the first place.
He added that Adorco’s allegations against him were mere hearsay and lies, and that Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa’s accusations against him no longer stood because he was already dead.
As for Espinosa, he said he had legislative immunity when he faced the Senate in November 2016, which means the testimonies he made there could not be used against them.
In that hearing, Espinosa admitted he was a drug lord.
The panel also gave the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, which is acting as the complainant, up to June 22 to submit a reply-affidavit to the counter-affidavits of Espinosa and Co.