Duterte not properly briefed about suspicious Espinosa slay—senators

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Presidential Photo

President Rodrigo Duterte may have yet to be fully apprised of the suspicious circumstances surrounding the killing of drug trafficker Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. in detention, several lawmakers said Friday in the wake of a Senate hearing that found discrepancies and loopholes in the police narration of the story.

This as Duterte said he believed the version of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Region 8 operatives that Espinosa was shot dead as he  tried to fight off policemen serving a search warrant inside his jail cell at the sub-provincial jail in Baybay, Leyte on Nov. 5.

READ: Duterte believes police version of Espinosa jail killing

“I don’t think the President has been properly briefed yet on the recent  developments, particularly the version of Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Region 8 policemen after they testified yesterday,” said Senator Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, who led Thursday’s hearing.

He noted that even the Philippine National Police leadership “recognized how they abused their authority in such a brazen manner.”

“If it’s an all out war that the President is after as he clearly stated, the killing of Espinosa is more of a setback than gain as far as the protectors in and out of governance. The authorities lost the probative value of his testimony with his death. What a waste,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III had a similar take.

“Perhaps he was not fully appraised of the circumstances yet. He must have been told that a drug lord was killed, but he was not told that bigger drug lords could possibly be behind the killing,” he said.

Sen. Leila de Lima, a committee member and fierce critic of Duterte’s all-out war on drugs, lamented the President’s decision, saying his position—despite tell-tale signs that Espinosa’s slay was extrajudicial—tended to affirm impunity.

“It’s an unfortunate, deplorable state of affairs in our country today to be witnessing these brazen acts of impunity, and with a Chief Executive empowering abusive and violent policemen, by continuing to protect said policemen and their gross misconduct in carrying out attacks against civilians,” she said.

De Lima cited how the President has “the tendency to be willfully blind where he feels it would reflect badly on him and his “War on Drugs.”

At Thursday’s nearly eight-hour hearing, Lacson said Espinosa’s slay was “premeditated” as he found out discrepancies between police logs and operatives’ testimonies.

Lacson pointed out that the raiding team called for forensics investigators to respond some 41 minutes before they even broke into the jail facility. Espinosa and fellow inmate Raul Yap turned up dead minutes later.

READ: Lacson: Espinosa slay premeditated

The inquiry also established that the raiding team of 19 men, including CIDG Region 8 head Supt. Marvin Marcos, failed to coordinate their mission with jail authorities and higher Philippine National Police officers, despite the involvement of a high-profile inmate. RAM/rga