Kerwin Espinosa acquitted of illegal weapon possession

MANILA —  A Manila court has acquitted self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa of charges related to illegal possession of firearms and explosives in connection with a 2016 police raid on his family’s residence.

The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 16 ruled that the “prosecution miserably failed to prove the guilt of Kerwin Espinosa beyond reasonable doubt that he was in effective control and possession over the firearms or weapons and ammunition neither was he in actual nor constructive possession of the same.”

In August 2016, police recovered firearms and ammunition during a raid at the Espinosa residence in Albuera, Leyte. The raid resulted in an armed encounter that killed men linked to Kerwin’s late father, Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Jr.

A witness, Marcelo Adorco, also recanted his earlier statements that he was the bodyguard or driver of the younger Espinosa, and that the firearms and ammunition were owned by the accused.

“The truth being is that he was the bodyguard and driver of Mayor Espinosa, especially during cockfights; that the firearms and ammunition were all taken from the house of Mayor Espinosa; and that accused Kerwin has no knowledge about these,” the decision read.

Espinosa will remain detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig as he is still facing other cases related to illegal drugs and money laundering.

Espinosa previously linked former senator Leila De Lima to the drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison, but he has since recanted his statements against her. —   Marlene Alcaide (FREEMAN)