Espinosa kin may question downgrade of raps vs cops, says Drilon

A petition could be filed in the Court of Appeals (CA) to question the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) downgrading of the murder charges against policemen involved in the killing of the Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. last year, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Wednesday.

Drilon, a former justice secretary, said Espinosa’s family, as the private offended party, could raise the issue to the CA.

“Considering the overwhelming evidence against the accused, the families of the offended parties can question before the Court of Appeals the decision of the DOJ and the Regional Trial Court to charge the accused with the lesser offense of homicide on the ground of grave abuse of discretion,” he said.

Drilon said the Senate may join the filing at the CA as a “co-intervener.”

“The Senate has a stake in this case. The Senate unanimously took the position that Mayor Espinosa was murdered as he was killed with evident premeditation and abuse of authority,” he said.

After investigating the incident, the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs chaired by Senator Panfilo Lacson had recommended the filing of murder charges against the accused. The committee report was unanimously adopted by the chamber.

“What the DOJ did was really deplorable – when they acted contrary to evidence gathered, not only by its department, but also by the Senate and the National Bureau of Investigation,” the Senate leader added.

Drilon said the DOJ move should be brought to the higher court “in order to correct this patent abuse of discretion committed by the DOJ and by the judge” as he questioned the “undue haste” exercised by Regional Trial Court Branch 14 Judge Carlos Arguelles in acting on the motion to downgrade the charges.

In ordinary circumstances, he said, the judge would allow the case to proceed and let it be questioned in the appellate courts.

The senator further explained that a court acquires jurisdiction over the case once a complaint or information is filed with it and is not bound to recognize or adopt a subsequent resolution of the DOJ.

“In fact, reliance on the resolution of the Secretary of Justice, or worse in this case, by an Undersecretary of the DOJ would be an abdication of the trial court’s duty and jurisdiction to determine a prima facie case,” Drilon said.

He also noted that in the case of Leonardo Flores v. Raul Gonzalez and Eugene Lim (G.R. No. 188197, 3 August 2010), the Supreme Court categorically stated that the trial court should make an assessment separate and independent from the evaluation of the prosecution or the Secretary of Justice.

Once the issue is brought to the Supreme Court and it has ruled that there is a grave abuse of discretion on the part of the judge, Drilon said he would strongly advocate that an administrative proceeding be initiated against the judge “because either he is incompetent or in collusion with government authorities.” JE

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