Minority senators slam downgrading of cases vs Espinosa slay suspects

MANILA, Philippines —  The storm of criticism against the decision of the Justice department to downgrade from murder to homicide the cases filed against police officers accused of killing a former Leyte mayor continued on Tuesday as several senators minced no words in condemning the decision.

Sen. Franklin Drilon, the minority leader, described the decision of the Department of Justice as an “insult to the Senate” as the body recommended the filing of murder charges against 19 respondents led by Superintendent Marvin Marcos, then head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (DILG) Region 8.

Drilon described the decision of DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II as a “big blow to [the] justice system in the country.”

He added that this decision would impact the government’s ability to prevent and prosecute police abuses and irregularities in the future.

"The abrupt downgrading of the case against Superintendent Marvin Marcos and his cohorts from murder to homicide is a big blow to the justice system in the country," Drilon said. "This is a very disappointing development insofar as the ability of the government to prevent and prosecute police abuses and irregularities is concerned."

In a ruling dated May 29, the DOJ amended the complaint against the respondents. This was followed by the filing of a motion before the Baybay City Regional Trial Court Branch 14 on June 6 by Leyte prosecutors informing it of the department’s decision to prosecute the respondents for homicide.

The DOJ ruling came after CIDG officers asked the department to overturn the resolution of a five-man panel that led to the respondents’ indictment and arrest.

With the ruling, Marcos and the other CIDG officers may post bail and be temporarily released.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros also assailed the DOJ move and called Aguirre the “flip-flop king” for approving the downgrade of the charges.

She said that the move of the Justice department was an attempt at “cover up” and an “act of impunity to cover up another act of impunity.”

The move also lowered the reputation of Aguirre, whom Hontiveros also labeled as the “fake news king of Padre Faura,” before the public, according to the senator.

"This is an obvious attempt at a cover up through an unabashed flip-flop. It is an act of impunity to cover up another act of impunity," Hontiveros said. "From being the fake news king of Padre Faura, Secretary Aguirre is also now immortalized as the DoJ's flip-flop king, a would-be absolver of murderers."

The senator said she would ask the Senate to invite Aguirre to explain his department’s decision, stressing that the resolution was “the last straw.”

Hontiveros said: "We cannot allow Secretary Aguirre to continue to toy around with our justice system. Enough's enough."

Drilon, a former secretary of justice, pointed out that Aguirre himself admitted during a Senate panel investigation that the killing of Espinosa would qualify as a “premeditated killing,” which qualifies it to murder under the law, he said.

“Secretary Aguirre told us under oath here in the Senate that he himself considers the killing as premeditated. He even pointed out that the conduct of Espinosa's arrest was not consistent with the PNP's procedures,” he said.

Aguirre said that the arrest warrant was “unusual” since it was obtained late and was served at 4:30 in the morning, recalled Drilon, a former Senate president.

Aguirre also labeled the operation an “overkill” considering the number of policemen involved in the operation that led to the death of Espinosa, Drilon said.

"It begs now the question: Why did the DOJ suddenly reverse its earlier decision,which was supported by ample evidence? Why not allow the court to determine if it's murder or homicide?" Drilon asked, adding that the action fuels speculation and fears over growing police impunity in the country.

Sen. Leila De Lima, who is detained at Camp Crame on accusations that she financially benefited from the illegal drugs trade at the New Bilibid Prison, said that the DOJ decision showed that Marcos and his police officers were actually carrying out an order to kill Espinosa, the Leyte mayor.

Such an order came from the “very top,” she said in another of her dispatches from detention.

De Lima also claimed that the DOJ’s initial adoption of the National Bureau of Investigation’s recommendation to file murder charges against the respondents was just “a charade” and “for show.”

“This disturbing development only serves to bolster my suspicion that Marcos, et al. were actually carrying out an order to liquidate Mayor Espinosa, and that such order came from the top, the very top,” she said.

“Something tells me that the DOJ's initial adoption of NBI's recommendation was just for show, a charade, so as to please or satisfy the Senate and the public. The actual game plan though was to downgrade the charges, as done now, and ultimately weaken the case vs. those rogue police officers and men,” the senator added.

She also said that there must be something that Espinosa knew or the notebook of his son Kerwin contained that could have led to the decision to kill the former mayor.

“Call it a speculation, or even paranoia, but I'm almost certain that there must be something Mayor Espinosa knew or about to do relative to his son Kerwin's so-called "pink book" or "blue book" that underlied the mastermind's decision to kill the Mayor,” she said.