Gordon seeks separate probe of Mayor Espinosa’s slay
Senator Richard Gordon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon on Sunday said he would file a resolution seeking a new Senate investigation into the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa and fellow inmate Raul Yap in the Baybay City provincial jail.
This was after fellow Senator Panfilo Lacson called for the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the spate of drug-related killings in the country following Espinosa’s slay, which he called a “clear case of extrajudicial killing.”
READ: Lacson: Mayor Espinosa’s slay a ‘clear case of extrajudicial killing’
Gordon is the chair of the Senate committee on justice and human rights who spearheaded the EJK hearings.
“I will talk to Sen. (Panfilo) Lacson, who has expressed intention to seek the resumption of our investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings following the killing of Mayor Espinosa. We will have to conduct a separate investigation on this case because we have wrapped up the previous investigation and the committee report is ready for submission,” Gordon said in a statement.
Gordon expressed alarm over Espinosa’s death in government custody, calling it a “slap on the face of the rule of law” and “signals a more desperate system—a ‘take no prisoners’ approach.”
“How can we encourage suspects to surrender under the law in this situation? This creates an atmosphere of intimidation and fear and puts everybody in danger,” he said.
“It is in the public interest to dispel speculations as well as to allay fear among our people. The police must show that it is responsible and capable of protecting its citizens and delivering justice to them under the rule of law,” Gordon added.
According to a spot report, Espinosa and one Raul Yap were killed in a predawn firefight with Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Operatives (CIDG) who were serving them search warrants for firearms and illegal drugs.
Police said the two fought it out with them, which allegedly triggered the clash. JE/rga
