PNP submits new evidence vs Kerwin, others in drug case

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has presented new pieces of evidence to pin down Kerwin Espinosa and other suspected drug lords on drug charges slapped against them.

Director-General Oscar Albayalde, PNP Chief, said the new pieces of evidence were submitted to the new panel created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to handle the case of Espinosa, Peter Lim, Peter Co, and other respondents on drug trafficking charges.

“We filed a Motion for Reconsideration (MR) and of course we added new pieces of evidence on our motion and hopefully this would help stand the MR that we filed,” said Albayalde.

It was recalled that the PNP, through the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), filed a Motion for Reconsideration after the case against Espinosa was dismissed in December last year.

Then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre accused the CIDG of filing a weak case against the respondents and added that Espinosa’s admission during a Senate hearing that he engaged in drug trafficking was not included in pieces of evidence presented.

The dismissal of the case caused a public uproar especially when one of the members of the panel was reported to have been appointed as a judge. Aguirre resigned after the incident and a new panel was also created.

“We will just wait for the decision of the court. It really depends on the appreciation of the court,” said Albayalde.