Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno. KING RODRIGUEZ/PPD
Interior Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno identified the 19 operatives in the police raid that led to the death of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. inside a jail in Leyte.
They are now being investigated by the Philippine National Police’s Internal Affairs Service (PNP-IAS).
Thirteen of the 19 are from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-Region 8) and six are from the Regional Maritime Unit of Region 8.
“We welcome the investigations being conducted by other agencies and bodies because more than anyone else, we want to get to the bottom of this incident so we can carry out the necessary actions,” Sueno said in a statement.
The 13 CIDG-Region 8 personnel now under probe are:
Supt. Santi Noel Matira, Designated Supervisor
Chief Insp. Leo Laraga, Team Leader
Senior Insp. Deogracias Diaz III, Assistant Team Leader
Senior Insp. Fritz Blanco, Assistant Team Leader
SPO4 Juanito Duarte
SPO4 Melvin Cayobit
SPO2 Benjamin Dacallos
SPO2 Alphinor Serrano Jr.
PO3 Jhonny Ibanez
PO3 Norman Abellanosa
PO1 Bernard Orpilla
PO1 Lloyd Ortiguesa
PO1 Jerlan Cabiyaan
The six regional maritime unit members are:
Chief Insp. Calixto Canillas, Team Leader
Senior Insp. Lucrecito Candilosas, Assistant Team Leader
SPO2 Antonio Docil
SPO1 Mark Christian Cadilo
PO2 Jhon Ruel Ducolan
PO2 Jaime Bacsal
Sueno said the IAS will also look into the involvement of the Maritime Group Region 8 Chief “given the unclear basis of their involvement in the operation.”
Many are questioning the raid inside the cell of Espinosa and fellow inmate Raul Yap in the Baybay sub-provincial jail in Leyte. The search, which was carried out at 4:10 a.m. Saturday, was conducted by a 15-man team composed of CIDG and regional maritime police unit members.
Both Espinosa and Yap died in the raid after allegedly firing at the operatives./rga