PHILIPPINE National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa on Friday said Justice department prosecutors should have “diligently considered public interest” before dismissing the drug cases filed against self-confessed drug trafficker Kerwin Espinosa and Cebu businessman Peter Lim.
“Though separate pillars of criminal justice system, we are all under the chief executive branch of government,” Dela Rosa said as he pointed out that the DoJ panel of prosecutors could have alerted the police on the weaknesses they saw in the case.
“The mere fact that the decision came out last December, they should have told us early that the case is weak,” Dela Rosa said.
Last week, the DoJ dropped the complaint of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group against Espinosa, Lim and others, citing the weak testimony given by Espinosa’s driver and bodyguard, Marcelo Adorco.
The CIDG had filed a case against Espinosa for being the supplier of illegal drugs, using Adorco as courier and receiver of shabu.
CIDG Director Roel B. Obusan said Adorco had direct participation in the proliferation of illegal drugs, which meant his testimony was not hearsay.
“It does not need any collaboration because that is a direct participation coming from a person directly involved in the commission of a crime,” Obusan said.
Though he stopped short of blaming the DJ prosecutors, Dela Rosa said the information could have been relayed to them without violating legal processes.
“Its not their duty, it’s the job of the investigator. But they should be conscience-bound, not duty-bound because it has legal implications. If you have conscience you should have told us that the case is weak,” Dela Rosa said.
On Wednesday, Judge Aristotle Reyes, former prosecutor with the DoJ, said the prosecution was not mandated to require parties to the case to provide evidence as it would amount to lawyering for their party.
Dela Rosa said President Rodrigo Duterte was so upset at learning of the dropped charges that he punched a wall hard enough to make it swell.
The police chief said he was optimistic, however, that with a motion for reconsideration and supplemental evidence, the dismissal would be reversed.
He reiterated they have a strong case against Espinosa in the illegal drug peddling charges despite the DoJ dismissal of the case.