Espino seeks dismissal of murder complaint

MANILA, Philippines - Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday to instantly dismiss the murder charge filed against him by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) last month for the killing of Infanta town Mayor Ruperto Martinez in December last year.

Espino did not appear in the preliminary investigation hearing at 9 a.m. yesterday, sending his lawyers instead to file a motion to dismiss the complaint for supposed lack of basis.

He asked the investigating fiscals to suspend the preliminary investigation pending resolution of his motion.

The DOJ panel, composed of Assistant State Prosecutors Olive Torrevillas, Aris Reyes and Rex Gingoyon, gave due course to the governor’s plea, which means they would first resolve it before requiring him to answer the charges.

During the hearing, the Akap Bata Foundation and supporters of the 16-year-old teenage witness who tagged Espino in the killing picketed outside the DOJ.

The group, which has custody of the witness, said the boy should be allowed to testify in the case.

“It is part of a child’s democratic right to participate in judicial procedures or trials,” they said in a statement.

The boy’s parents has filed an amparo petition with the Supreme Court (SC) and sought to get their son back to their custody.

Jaime Aquino, one of the respondents in the murder complaint, alleged that his son was “abused” by authorities and enticed into pointing to Espino and Pangasinan first district Rep. Jesus Celeste as alleged masterminds in the Martinez killing.

The SC had referred the amparo petition to the Court of Appeals for resolution but the hearing was stalled last March 8 because of a related case filed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development before the Manila court.

The teenage witness told probers that he was present in the meeting at a beach resort in Bolinao, Pangasinan in November 2011 when the three respondents allegedly planned the killing.