Aguirre reaffirms commitment to gov’t anti-drug war

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aquirre II (YANCY LIM/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

MANILA — Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aquirre II said there will be no let-up in his department’s commitment to support the war against illegal drugs, crime and corruption.

“I wish to reassure the Filipino people that your Department of Justice remains fully committed to the mandate of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte that we will use all our resources to effectively wage war against drugs, corruption and other forms of criminality,” Aguirre said in a statement Friday.

Explaining developments in the case of self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa and Peter Lim, Aguirre said
the new panel of prosecutors he formed is empowered to continue the preliminary investigation on the cases against the two alleged drug kingpins.

The measure, Aguirre said, would allow the parties including the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) to submit additional pieces of evidence in support of their respective position.

Aguirre said the CIDG can now beef up their case before a credible panel of prosecutors the motion for reconsideration they have filed on the original December 20, 2017 resolution.

The said ruling approved by Acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan recommended the dismissal of the CIDG’s complaint against Espinosa, Lim, and more than 20 others.

It cited lack of evidence and supposed inconsistencies in the testimony of Espinosa’s aide Marcelo Adorco, the lone witness cited in the CIDG complaint. The CIDG maintains that any inconsistencies on the part of Adorco was minor and did not affect the testimony on material points proving Espinosa’s liability.

The police said Espinosa conspired with several drug couriers and shabu suppliers Lim, Peter Co, and Lovely Impal, to sell and distribute drugs from Makati City to selected areas in the Central and Eastern Visayas regions.