Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Sen. Panfilo Lacson branded the shooting death of detained Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. Saturday as a “clear case of EJK (extrajudicial killing)” as he called for the resumption of a Senate probe into drug-related deaths.
Police said Espinosa and another inmate were killed in a predawn raid inside their detention cell in Leyte. The two allegedly fought it out with police, triggering a clash that left them dead.
READ: Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa killed in ‘firefight’ inside jail
But an incredulous Lacson, a former police chief, said it was clear Espinosa was targeted and said he would discuss with Senate justice and human rights committee chair, Sen. Dick Gordon, the possibility of resuming the investigation into EJKs when sessions resume on Monday.
“I think that incident is the biggest challenge to the credibility of the PNP (Philippine National Police) that could affect even the other operations involving drug suspects killed under similarly suspicious circumstances,” Lacson said, adding that he also wanted to know whether there was “possible coverup for bigger personalities as motive.”
Bad script
He cited earlier revelations that Espinosa and son Kerwin, who was arrested in Abu Dhabi last month for drug trafficking, had paid police and politicians to turn a blind eye to their illicit business.
He described as a “very bad script” the official police version of the case—that Espinosa and his fellow inmate Raul Yap clashed with officers of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) who were serving them search warrants at a provincial jail in Leyte.
He said the other prisoner was also killed to eliminate a potential witness.
Ramon Espinosa, the slain mayor’s brother, claimed the killings could have been carried out by those he had threatened to expose. In an affidavit, Espinosa earlier said unnamed personalities wanted him silenced.
Slap in the face
“We believe that my brother was intentionally killed,” Ramon said. “The claim that he tried to engage the police in a shootout was unbelievable.”
Gordon called the incident “a dagger in the heart of the criminal justice system.”
“It’s a slap on the face of the rule of law and it signals a more desperate system—a ‘take no prisoners’ approach. This creates an atmosphere of intimidation and fear, and puts everybody in danger,” Gordon said.
“It is in the public interest to dispel speculations as well as to allay fear among our people,” he said.
Mr. Duterte’s arch critic, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, moved for an “impartial” police investigation and said that with Espinosa’s death “we will never know who his accomplices are, where his supplies are coming from and who his clients are.”
At the House of Representatives, opposition leader Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, said he would file a resolution for an inquiry into the suspicious deaths.
Commission on Human Rights “extrajudicial task force” chair Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana said the body would also conduct an independent probe, as she called on the police to “hold the people responsible” for the deaths accountable.
Amid the mounting calls, the regional police immediately formed a panel that would probe the killing. Chief Supt. Elmer Beltejer of Police Regional Office 8 said they would work to “establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident.”
It would also determine whether lapses were committed. The Regional Internal Affairs Service 8 (RIAS8) said it would also conduct its parallel investigation.
Scene of the crime operatives processed the scene of the shootout early Saturday and recovered handguns and ammunition from the cell of both men. They also found sachets containing suspected shabu and assorted drug paraphernalia in both men’s cells.
Tragic ending
It was a tragic ending for a man who thought that he would be safe inside a detention cell.
News of the incident shocked relatives, who claimed Espinosa was intentionally killed, while police said it complicated efforts at going after other suspects the slain politician has openly implicated.
Local police commander Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido said Espinosa’s death might weaken the cases filed against those suspected of providing protection to Kerwin.
Espenido was the one who convinced Espinosa to execute an affidavit, identifying those who were involved in his son’s operation, in exchange for protection. The mayor stayed in Espenido’s office for close to two months until he was transferred to the jail cell where he would meet his death.
Espenido said the mayor’s lawyer had asked Judge Carlos Argeulles of the Regional Trial Court of Baybay City to return Espinosa back to the Albuera jail where he would be safer. The request was denied.
“I wanted him to live because he could have helped us a lot in our campaign against illegal drugs. He knew how vast the operations of his son was,” Espenido said. “He is dead. We no longer have a witness who has firsthand knowledge on the illegal drug operations of his son. All our efforts amount to nothing now.”
Espinosa was a vital witness to the charges filed by Espenido against the 33 police officers, 7 government officials and 7 private individuals at the Office of the Ombudsman, the prosecutors’ office and the PNP.
Espinosa’s older brother, Ramon, said he was dismayed at PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa who had promised that the mayor would be safe.
“General Dela Rosa should have done something to secure my brother because he’s the head of all policemen,” he said.
“I do not understand what is happening with our government. I thought we now have a good President. But some people around him are abusing their power. Only few are trustworthy,” he added.
Mayor Espinosa was the fifth of seven siblings from Cebu City. The family moved to Leyte in the 1980s to take care of parcels of land owned by their mother.
“I hope Kerwin won’t suffer the same fate (as) his father. But we’re ready for anything,” he added. —WITH REPORTS FROM DJ YAP, JAYMEE T. GAMIL, CYNTHIA D. BALANA, JOEY A. GABIETA, VICKY ARNAIZ, ADOR MAYOL AND ROBERT DEJON
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