A Manila Regional Trial Court on Tuesday set for Oct. 20 the arraignment on the cases for drug trading and illegal possession of explosives and firearms against self-confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa.
Manila RTC Branch 26 Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. issued the schedule after Espinosa attended the hearing.
The Manila RTC Branch 26 will also hear on October 20 Espinosa’s motion to junk the cases against him.
Pampilo, meanwhile, dismissed the cases for possession of dangerous drugs, illegal drug trading and illegal possession of firearms and explosives against Espinosa’s father, Albuera Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., who died following a bloody police search operation at a jail facility in Leyte on Nov. 5 last year.
Under Article 89 of the Revised Penal Code, a person’s criminal liability is extinguished upon death.
The cases stemmed from the police raid on the Espinosa residence in Binolho village in Albuera on July 28 last year where authorities seized illegal drugs and assorted firearms.
Judge Carlos Arguelles of the Baybay City Regional Trial Court Branch 14 handled the cases until the Supreme Court recently granted the request of both the prosecution and defense camps to transfer the trial to Metro Manila for security reasons.
“The prosecution witnesses, Kerwin and the judge expressed fears for their safety. They believed the cases should be heard in a neutral venue,” Pampilo said.
