Cop who killed Espinosa: No regrets; he’s not innocent

Chief Insp. Leo Laraga was the leader of the raiding team at the Baybay sub-provincial jail and the one who shot dead Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. —LYN RILLON/INQUIRER

The cop who shot and killed Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. on Wednesday said he had no regrets, saying the mayor was not innocent anyway.

“Ako wala akong pagsisi e kasi lumaban naman yung tatay mo e. Saka hindi inonsenteng tao yun your honor,” Chief Insp. Leo Laraga said during the hearing of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs on Wednesday.

“At saka ayokong mawalan ng ama yung mga anak ko kung ako naman ang napatay ng tatay mo,” Laraga said, directing his statement to Espinosa’s son, Kerwin, who was also in the hearing.

Laraga was the leader of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) unit in Region 8 that raided the mayor’s cell at the Baybay, Leyte, provincial jail before dawn of Nov. 5.

Kerwin, alleged drug lord in Eastern Visayas, earlier named Laraga as among the cops who allegedly received protection money from him but the latter had vehemently denied it.

READ: Kerwin Espinosa names cops in drug payola

But Laraga questioned Kerwin’s concern for his father, citing his conflicting statements in the media and in the committee.

In one interview, for instance, he said, Kerwin claimed that he was not immediately informed about his father’s death because he was abroad but later told the committee that he managed to contact his people here.

“E nakontak mo yung tao mo, pero yung father mo hindi mo kinontak, tapos ngayon galit na galit ka? Dahil pinatay yung tatay mo magsasabi ka ng totoo? E alin ba talaga ang totoo dun, under oath ka naman?” Laraga said.

“Tsaka your honor kung talagang nagsisi ka at hindi ka takot na pagbayaran yugn mga kasalanan mo, aminin mo kung sino yung mga pinagpapatay mo doon sa Region 8 at mabigyan naman ng hustisya ang pamilya nila,” he said.