(Eagle News) — The new panel of prosecutors formed to review the complaint filed against Kerwin Espinosa and others has summoned all the parties in the case for the conduct of a preliminary investigation next month.
The panel composed of Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, Assistant State Prosecutor Anna Noreen Devanadera, and prosecution attorney Herbert Calvin Abugan ordered respondents Espinosa, Peter Co, Peter Lim, Marcelo L. Adorco, Max Miro, Lovely Impal, Ruel Malindagan and Jun Pepito to appear before the DOJ on April 12.
Also asked to appear was the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation Detection Group, which acted as the complainant.
The subpoena noted Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre’s order to remand the case to the new prosecution panel in order to “allow the complainant and respondents to submit additional pieces of evidence in support of their respective positions.”
The second prosecution panel was formed after a first panel dismissed the drug-related charges filed against Espinosa and the others.
The first panel, composed of Assistant State Prosecutor Michael John Humarang, Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Rassendell Rex Gingoyon, and former Assistant State Prosecutor and now-Lucena Regional Trial Court judge Aristotle Reyes, had cited a “dearth of evidence” in junking the charges, noting the alleged inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecution’s sole witness.
That decision to dismiss was approved by Acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan.
Aguirre ordered an investigation into the possible liability of Humarang, Gingoyon, Reyes and Catalan, and declared moot the decision of the first panel.
He later apologized to them, and noted that the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission’s recommendation to have them suspended had no basis.
