(FILE) Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra
MANILA, Philippines — Self-confessed drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa is not yet off the hook, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.
Guevarra said he has ordered Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento to contest the decision of the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 64 to dismiss the drug case against Kerwin Espinosa, Wu Tuan Yuan a.k.a. Peter Co, Lovely Impal, and Marcelo Adorco.
READ: Makati court dismisses drug case vs Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Co, 2 others
“I am saddened by this development,” Guevarra told reporters Wednesday.
He said that while he has yet to get a full copy of the court’s ruling, he has already ordered the Prosecutor General “to exhaust all legal remedies, foremost of which is to file a motion for reconsideration with the trial court.”
Guevarra added that Espinosa is still not a free man as he still has a pending case before the Manila Regional Trial Court and another case in Albuera, Leyte.
READ: Manila RTC affirms DOJ findings vs Espinosa, 4 others
“Sooner or later, the long arm of the law will catch up with these people and they will answer for their crimes,” Guevarra said.
Earlier, the Makati RTC Branch 64 granted the demurrers to evidence filed by Espinosa, Impal, Co, and Adorco after the prosecution failed to prove that there was a conspiracy to commit drug trafficking.
A demurrer to evidence is in effect a motion to dismiss anchored on the ground that the evidence presented is insufficient.
“The purported participation of Impal, Espinosa, and Yuan in the alleged conspiracy was based solely on Adorco’s recanted testimony which is not only untrustworthy but also inadmissible for having been obtained in violation of his constitutional rights,” the court said.
It added that while there are the testimonies of the police officers, “taken collectively, is not strong enough to show that the Espinosa Group conspired to commit illegal trade or illegal trafficking of dangerous drugs for it is undisputed that the police officers have no personal knowledge of the crime that was allegedly committed.”
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