ONE of the state prosecutors who dismissed the charges against Cebu businessman Peter Lim and self-confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa defended their action Thursday, saying it was not their job to look for evidence.
Former assistant state prosecutor and now Lucena City Regional Trial Court Judge Aristotle Reyes said their duty was to weigh the evidence presented to them and determine whether there exists probable cause to indict the respondents for the criminal offense they may have committed.
“During the Senate hearing, Kerwin made an admission, but it’s not our job to get the transcript otherwise we will be gathering the evidence. That’s the job of the CIDG [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group]. Why did they not do it,” Reyes said in an interview of radio dzZMM.
“We rely on evidence submitted to us. We cannot, on our own, look for evidence for the parties. Otherwise, we will be acting as lawyers of the CIDG,” Reyes added.
The CIDG said they did not include the confession of Espinosa during the Senate hearing in the complaint because he recanted his admission during the preliminary investigation and denied the claim of prosecution witness Marcelo Adorco regarding his alleged involvement in the narcotics trade.
In his testimony before the Senate, Espinosa named Lim and Co as among those who supplied his group with illegal drugs.
Co is serving his sentence for drug dealing in the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Reyes said they dismissed the case since Adorco’s testimony was riven by numerous material inconsistencies.
Assistant State Prosecutor Michael John Humarang, who along with Reyes recommended the dismissal of the case to acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan, agreed, saying the CIDG did not present sufficient evidence against the respondents and relied only on the testimony of its sole witness.
Reyes and Humarang expressed readiness to face any investigation on their role in dismissing the case.
“I welcome the investigation. We stand ready to face the probe because our conscience is clear,” Humarang said.
Reyes said the probe would give them the opportunity to clear their names.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Wednesday directed NBI Director Dante Gierran to build a case to determine possible wrongdoing by the prosecutors who dismissed the case.
Aguirre also ordered the creation of another panel that will handle the motion for reconsideration filed by the CIDG.
The new panel is composed of Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, Assistant State Prosecutor Ana Noreen Devanadera and Prosecution Attorney Herbert Calvin Abugan.
Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon will act as Prosecutor General for the case.
The Office of the Solicitor General, meanwhile, said it would take up the cudgels for the CIDG, which is seeking a reversal of the dismissal.
Solicitor General Jose Calida said he believed Adorco’s testimony was enough to indict Espinosa and the other respondents since he is an active participant and an eyewitness to the illegal activities.
“Uncorroborated testimony of a state witness may be sufficient when given in a straightforward manner, full of details which could not have been a result of deliberate afterthought,” he said.
Calida also said determination of the existence of probable cause is not concerned with the question of whether the offense charged has been or is being committed in fact, but only whether the affiant has reasonable grounds for his belief.
Aguirre, under fire for the dismissal, said he would not heed calls for him to resign, which would give the impression of wrongdoing.
He said he would resign only if it can be proven without controversy that he made a mistake, or if the President asks him to step down.
Earlier, lawmakers called on Aguirre to explain the dismissal of drug trading charges against Lim and Espinosa, while Senator Richard Gordon dared the Justice Secretary to file charges against the two drug suspects.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque on Thursday said President Rodrigo Duterte continues to trust Aguirre.
He also said the President was joking when he threatened to jail Aguirre in place of Lim and Espinosa.
But the President did express his dismay over the prosecutors’ decision to dismiss the drug charges against Espinosa and Lim.