Senators eye revisiting Espinosa slay case

SENATORS ON Wednesday posited some options to resolve the circumstances of the controversial Espinosa slay case — including having the Senate revisit the case in a new probe — following the downgrading early this month of charges against the accused from murder to homicide.

For his part, Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II distanced himself from a resolution filed late last month by his own department, which downgraded the murder charges against several police officers over the Nov. 5, 2016 killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Roland R. Epinosa, Sr. and inmate Raul Yap.

On Thursday, Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III, interviewed by reporters, said the Senate may reopen its inquiry on the killings. “I guess the best way is to reopen the hearing and require the submission of... counter- affidavits so that the senators will have the transcript before them and also the counter- affidavit before them,” he said.

Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV, for his part, said he has filed a resolution seeking clarification from the Department of Justice (DoJ) regarding “its contradictory issuances” on the case.

As Mr. Aquino noted in his statement, the latest DoJ resolution reversed an earlier resolution filed in March which recommended murder charges against 19 members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group ( CIDG), headed by Supt. Marvin Marcos.