DOJ chief washes hands of ruling to downgrade charges against 19 cops

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has washed his hands of his department's decision to downgrade the charges against policemen accused of killing Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa last November.

In a statement on Wednesday, Aguirre said he did not pen the resolution to the petition for review filed by the suspects led by police Supt. Marvin Marcos.

"I did not have any hand in the drafting of the resolution being referred to by some senators. I was not the one who resolved the matter. I was not the one who wrote it. I was not the one who signed it," Aguirre said.

In a resolution dated May 29, Justice Undersecretary Reynante Orceo granted the suspects' petition for review after downgrading the murder charges against the 19 policemen to homicide, a bailable offense. All 19 policemen were released on bail on June 16.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, chair of Senate committee on public order, on Tuesday urged his colleagues to denounce the Department of Justice (DOJ) resolution.

Lacson's committee earlier recommended the filing of murder charges against Marcos and his men from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Eastern Visayas for killing Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, inside their detention cell in Baybay City, Leyte.

Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes said Aguirre will appear before the Senate if an investigation is opened into the DOJ decision.

The DOJ decision nullified its March 2017 resolution that indicted the 19 CIDG cops for murder and malicious procurement of search warrant.

The resolution signed by Orceo said there was no direct evidence that will prove that the cops planned the killing of Espinosa and Yap.