By Moira Encina
Eagle News Service
The Office of the Solicitor General has submitted additional evidence in the drug case against Kerwin Espinosa and his co-accused.
Included among those submitted by the OSG during the second hearing of the preliminary investigation into the charges of conspiracy in relation to the sale of illegal drugs against Espinosa, Peter Lim, Peter Co, Max Miro, Lovely Impal, Lovely Ruel Malindangan, Jun Pepito and others were the sworn statements of then-Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. on August 24, 2016, and on October 3, 2016.
In those statements, the then-mayor Espinosa confirmed his son Kerwin was involved in illegal drug trading.
Also submitted was a certified true copy of the transcript of the stenographic notes in a Senate hearing on December 5, 2016 where Kerwin supposedly admitted he was a drug distributor, and identified his suppliers as Lim, Co and Impal.
Also submitted by the OSG were the third additional sworn statement of Adorco, Kerwin’s former employee and the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s witness; a digital sketch and artist sketch allegedly of Lim, alias Jaguar, based on Adorco’s description; and .a certified true copy of the blue book of Kerwin’s accountant.
The DOJ panel of prosecutors gave the respondents until 1 p.m. on May 15 to submit their counter-affidavits.
Only Espinosa and Adorco were present in the hearing.
Then-Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre ordered the continuation of the preliminary investigation into the cases against Espinosa and the others following the public indignation over a first panel of prosecutors dismissal of the drug cases against them in December 2017.
Lim appealed Aguirre’s March 19 resolution to “vacate” the decision of the first panel, but newly installed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra denied this, saying it was within his predecessor’s powers to issue the resolution.
“If an order to reopen a preliminary investigation is a valid exercise of the broad powers of the Secretary of Justice to prevent a probable miscarriage of justice, so is an order vacating a resolution and directing the continuation of a preliminary investigation,” Guevarra said.