Kerwin says gov’t has no evidence he’s a drug lord, says his confession not enough

Trying to score another exoneration, confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa on Tuesday said that without drug evidence, any statement he had made at the Senate does not prove he is a drug lord.

In a new counter-affidavit submitted to a panel of prosecutors with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Espinosa said that without actual drugs as proof, his own confession is insufficient for him to be indicted for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

"My statements are a matter of record. However, the complainant must be sniffing something stronger than shabu to think that 'admissions' are sufficient for this Honorable Panel to hold that probable cause exists to indict me for violation of R.A. 9165," he said in the pleading.

It was before the country's lawmakers over a year ago that Espinosa admitted to participating in the illegal drug trade, saying he started in 2004 and with less than a gram of shabu to sell.

But the police did not submit the records of his public confession to government investigators until last month, when the drug complaint against Espinosa and several others was opened for review after being thrown out for lack of evidence late last year.

"I could have stated that I had raped and killed 50 women, and I could not be charged with rape with homicide. I could have bragged about having stolen 50 luxury cars, and I could not be charged with carnapping," he said.

"Much like President Rodrigo Roa Duterte who bragged about killing men, whatever I had stated required at the very least one piece of evidence—the proverbial 'corpus delicti' or the 'body of the crime.' This, the complainant does not have."

His pleading began with a reference to two news articles that reported Duterte's direct quotes admitting to killing criminal suspects when he was Davao mayor. Without evidence, Duterte could not be held for trial at the end of his term on the basis of such "admissions," he said.

Espinosa also discredited the evidence presented by the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, including the testimony of government witness Marcelo Adorco. This, for Espinosa, "further highlights the incredible and unbelievable nature of his story."

He also downplayed the 171 checks—allegedly issued to his protectors in the drug trade—that the government submitted as proof of his involvement in the business.

In his pleading, he said 30 of those were issued to his family members, 20 to real estate, textile and other firms, and 37 to "various females."

"Finally, in the ordinary course of human behavior, nobody but nobody would issue checks for an illegal transaction such as 'protection in the illegal drug business;' everything would be in cash to avoid a paper trail," he said.

Espinosa subscribed to his counter-affidavit during a hearing at the DOJ on Tuesday afternoon, where one of his co-accused, businessman and suspected drug lord Peter Lim, was once again a no-show.

Lim was given until May 30 to file his counter-affidavit after his lawyer, Magilyn Loja, told the prosecution panel that the businessman could not personally appear at the hearing and submit a counter-affidavit due to threats to his life. — BM, GMA News