Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3)— A local court upheld its earlier decision of junking the drug case against self-confessed dealer Kerwin Espinosa and his alleged cohorts.
In an order dated May 30 and released to the media on Friday, the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 64 denied the motion for reconsideration filed in the Justice department, saying the grounds mentioned in the appeal were “mere rehash of the prosecution’s previous arguments.”
“Another round of discourse would only result in endless academic discussions,” read the document. “Thus, the court finds no basis in delving anew on the said issues.”
In December 2021, the Makati RTC dismissed the drug trafficking charge against Espinosa and his supposed companions due to insufficient evidence.
The court granted the demurrer to evidence filed by Espinosa, Wu Tuan Yuan a.k.a. Peter Co, Lovely Impal, and witness Marcelo Adorco, noting that the prosecution failed to “adduce evidence to overturn the presumption of innocence enjoyed by the herein accused.”
Espinosa and his father, the slain Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa, Sr., were among the personalities tagged as alleged drug dealers by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. In the same year, the younger Espinosa was arrested in Abu Dhabi.
RELATED: Self-confessed drug lord Espinosa recants allegations vs. De Lima, says police threatened him
In its latest order, the Makati RTC stressed that for all criminal cases, “[t]he settled rule is that the prosecution must rely on the strength of its own evidence and not on the weakness of the defense.”
“The prosecution bears the burden to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, not on the accused to prove his innocence,” it added.
