NEWLY APPOINTED Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Monday said he “will give top priority to a review of recent DoJ actions on Kerwin Espinosa and Napoles.”
Mr. Guevarra was referring to high-profile cases that drew controversy for his resigned predecessor, Vitaliano N. Aguirre II, on whose watch a drug case involving confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa was dismissed, while alleged pork barrel-scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles was recommended for provisional coverage under the DoJ’s Witness Protection Program.
“I will reserve any judgment though till I have thoroughly studied the matter,” Mr. Guevarra, previously Senior Deputy Executive Secretary, said of these cases in a text message to reporters.
“For now I’m forming a small legal team to assist me, on top of the veteran guys at the DoJ,” he added.
Mr. Espinosa and other drug personalities were accused with violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Acts of 2002.
Mr. Aguirre had defended the dismissal of their case, saying it was still subject to his review. State prosecutors Aristotle M. Reyes and John M. Humarang also drew flak for their dismissal of that case.
Before leaving the agency, Mr. Aguirre reassigned the drug case to a new panel of prosecutors consisting of Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro C. Navera, Assistant State Prosecutor Anna Noreen T. Devanadera, and Prosecution Attorney Herbert Calvin D. Abugan.
This would also give the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) an opportunity to reinforce their weak evidence, which Messrs. Reyes and Humarang cited as the reason for the case’s dismissal.
Mr. Espinosa and his co-accused were ordered by the DoJ to present themselves at a hearing on Thursday, April 12. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

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