PNP outsmarted by Kerwin Espinosa — Dela Rosa

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa yesterday admitted they were outsmarted by Kerwin Espinosa, who had duped them into believing he would testify and shed light on the illegal drug trade in the Visayas.

Dela Rosa, however, vowed that the PNP would not allow Espinosa to again make a fool of them.

“You may have fooled us once but you can never fool us all the time. Mark my word, Mr. Kerwin Espinosa,” Dela Rosa said, addressing the suspect during a press briefing at Camp Crame.

The official was reacting to the dismissal of the complaint of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Espinosa, Peter Lim and at least 20 others with suspected links to illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa recalled that Espinosa testified at a Senate hearing in 2016 where he confessed his involvement in illegal drugs. However, when police investigators asked Espinosa to sign a sworn statement, the suspected drug personality refused and was uncooperative.

Instead of the sworn statement, the CIDG attached as evidence clippings of news reports on Espinosa’s statements before the Senate.

“Kerwin is good. I tell you, be careful with these drug lords,” said Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa admitted that they are frustrated over the outcome of their complaint against Espinosa, Lim and their alleged cohorts.

“If ordinary people are frustrated with the fact that the case was dismissed despite his admission that he is a drug lord, imagine the frustration on our part because we are the ones who worked for the case buildup,” he said.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II earlier blamed the CIDG for filing a weak case against Espinosa and his alleged accomplices.

On Dela Rosa’s lament that DOJ prosecutors should have advised the PNP-CIDG beforehand that their case against Espinosa was weak, Aguirre said that is not allowed during a preliminary investigation.

“They were not acting as prosecutors but as quasi-judicial officers,” he said yesterday over radio dzMM.