The Department of Justice has dropped the murder complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against three policemen implicated in the killing of Quezon City deputy city prosecutor Rogelio Velasco in May last year.
In a 32-page resolution issued by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, the DoJ stressed that there was no probable cause to indict Sr. PO2 Rodante Lalimarmo, PO3 Arthur Lucy, and PO1 Jose Mercado for murder.
Ong said the evidence presented by the NBI were insufficient to subject the policemen to a full trial by a criminal court.
Ong said the complainant merely relied on “speculations and conjectures” to support their case against the policemen.
“Mere speculations and probabilities cannot substitute for proof required to establish the guilt of an accused beyond reasonable doubt,” the DOJ ruled.
“Neither should complainants rely on suspicion, for suspicion alone is not sufficient. Suspicion, no matter how strong should not sway judgment, it being an accepted axiom that the prosecution cannot rely on the weakness of the defense to gain a conviction, but must establish beyond reasonable doubt every circumstance essential to the guilt of the accused,” it said.
