Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines—The alleged right-hand man of Kerwin Espinosa, whom his father and the police described as the biggest drug lord in Eastern Visayas, was killed in an alleged shootout with the police on Thursday.
According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Julito Prak was about to hand over some “shabu” to an undercover agent in Barangay Hipodromo here at past 5 in the afternoon, when he noticed that it was a sting.
Prak was quickly neutralized when he tried to shoot at the agents, the PDEA said, and was declared dead on arrival at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in this city.
Yogi Ruiz, PDEA regional director in Central Visayas, said Prak was tasked to transport illegal drugs from Cebu to Leyte, where Kerwin, the son of Abuera, Leyte, Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., was based.
Ruiz said it was possible that Prak knew the whereabouts of Kerwin, who remains at large. He added that the two both grew up in Hipodromo and started selling drugs about the same time.
Relatives in Cebu
Mayor Tomas Osmeña meanwhile ordered the police to look for Kerwin after receiving reports that he might be hiding in Cebu City where he has relatives.
He also challenged the Philippine National Police to arrest the police protectors of Kerwin, one of whom, the mayor claimed, was about to be assigned in Cebu City.
If the police finds Kerwin’s protectors in the PNP, Osmeña said he would reconsider his decision to pull out financial and logistical support from the Cebu City Police, following PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa’s removal of police officials from the city.
Reports that Kerwin may be hiding in Cebu City have stirred fear in his relatives here, including two aunts who live in Barangay Hipodromo.
The two women said some people, whom they didn’t know, were looking for them last Monday.
Suspicious
“They looked suspicious. But if they barge into our house, I’d really kill them,” one of the aunts warned. “They should not dare come in. I hope you understand that we’re just being careful because we don’t know what will happen next,” she added.
The woman said Kerwin left their ancestral home in Hipodromo some 10 years back and had not been seen here since.
“We really don’t know where Kerwin is now. We don’t know his whereabouts and we’re not hiding him. I’m sure he had heard the news (about the manhunt for him) and it’s up to him to surrender or not,” she said.
Hipodromo barangay captain Petronilo Fat Jr. confirmed that Kerwin’s relatives in the barangay were afraid of being dragged into the controversy.
Scared
“They are scared because they might be included (in the hit list),” he added.
Fat said he believed Kerwin would not go to their house here since the police were monitoring all possible places where he might hide.
The barangay official said Kerwin’s mother, Sally, is a native of Hipodromo and that the family owned a house in Sitio Cahipa.
The younger Espinosa probably learned the illegal drugs trade in Hipodromo, one of the villages in Cebu City plagued with the drug problem, Fat said.
Kerwin transferred his base to Albuera town, Leyte, after the death in 2010 of alleged drug lord Cresistomo “Tata Negro” Llaguno, the barangay chief said, adding however that Kerwin often visited their house in the village. Carmel Loise Matus, Nestle Semilla, Ador Vincent Mayol and Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas/TVJ