THE Department of Justice has indicted self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa and 11 others for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act for their alleged involvement in the drugs trade in the Eastern Visayas region from 2011 to 2016.
Aside from Espinosa, the panel of prosecutors led by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Charlie Guhit also indicted Marcelo Labay Adorco, Jose Ortiz Antipuesto, Jose Jernie Estrera, Galo Stephen Evero Bobares, Ferdinand Gurhoran Rondina, Brian Anthony Zaldivar, Nickjune Rosalia Canin, Virbeca Hiyas Diano, Alfred Cres, Arradza Batistis, and Jose Avila Dumaguit.
But a similar complaint against 15 others, including several police officers led by Chief Supt. Asher Dolina and Sr. Supt.Elizar Egloso, was dismissed for lack of probable cause.
The police officers were accused of protecting and coddling Espinosa.
The indictment of Espinosa and his co-accused were based on their extrajudicial confession about their involvement in the narcotics trade.
Although some of them have recanted their confession, the panel of prosecutors found their recantation insufficient.
“A reading of the affidavits of respondents Kerwin, Adorco, Antipuesto, Bobares, Rondina, Zaldivar, Diano, Estrera, Canin, Batistis and Dumaguit shows that the same contain statements wherein the affiants described their respective participation in the illegal drug trade of respondent Kerwin which partake in the nature of extrajudicial confessions,” the resolution dated July 13 said.
The panel said the extrajudicial confession was done voluntarily and made with the assistance of counsel and as such “there is no impediment to its admission as evidence.”
The panel said it found the recantation of Antipuesto, Bobares, Zaldivar and Diano to be “insufficient to disregard the same.”
The National Bureau of Investigation said Espinosa’s illegal drugs trade flourished in Eastern Visayas utilizing his cohorts, private armed group members and coddlers. In particular, the NBI said he was behind the illegal drugs trade in Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte.
Espinosa is the son of former Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was among the local officials tagged by President Duterte as allegedly involved in the narcotics trade. The elder Espinosa was killed by police officers out to serve a warrant of arrest in his detention cell in Leyte in 2016.
Kerwin is also facing other charges in different courts in Leyte, including drug trade conspiracy with alleged big-time drug lord Peter Co, Lovely Impal, Peter Lim and Ruel Malindangan.
Lim and Malindandangan are still at large while Co is serving a prison term at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Police seize P445,300 worth of suspected shabu and arrested six persons in buy-bust operations in Marikina and Pasig.
Brig. Gen Mathew Baccay, Eastern Police District director, identified the six as Crisanto Macay, 55; Angelo Daligdig, 27; Arthur Teves, 37; Albert Blanco, 33; Joselito Gonzales, 44; and Regie Rey Soriano, 33. — With Christian Oineza
