PAO chief open to new probe of Espinosa slay case

PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta. PHOTO FROM ACOSTA’S FB PAGE

TACLOBAN CITY—The country’s chief public attorney has supported the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to downgrade to homicide the murder case against personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) involved in the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr.

Persida Rueda- Acosta, head of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), which is under the DOJ, said they were open to any possible reinvestigation of the case by the Senate.

“The Department of Justice conducts a review (of cases) through the undersecretaries and panel of reviewers,” she said.

Acosta said the decision would depend on how the reviewers appreciated the evidence presented because murder required other aggravating circumstances other than intent to kill.

“It would be up to the court to appreciate the evidence. But since they were allowed bail, the court had adhered to the findings of the DOJ,” she added.

The DOJ downgraded the murder case against Supt. Marvin Marcos, CIDG-Eastern Visayas chief, and 18 other CIDG personnel in the killing of Espinosa, father of Kerwin Espinosa who was dubbed as the biggest drug lord in Eastern Visayas.

Since the case had been reduced to homicide, Judge Carlos Arguelles of Regional Trial Court-Branch 14 based in Baybay City, Leyte, granted the motion of the accused to post bail.

Last June 16, Marcos and his coaccused gained their temporary liberty after they posted bail of P40,000 each.

Espinosa was killed on Nov. 5, 2016 inside his cell at the Leyte subprovincial jail in Baybay City.

But the ruling of the DOJ was questioned by some senators who wanted to know why the case was downgraded to homicide.

Rueda-Acosta said the DOJ and PAO personnel both in Tacloban and Baybay were willing to face any investigation.

She said the PAO and the National Bureau of Investigation merely gathered the facts and took statements of the witnesses.

But the appreciation of evidence would depend on the panel of prosecutors who had direct control and supervision of the case.

Rueda-Acosta was in Tacloban City on Thursday to appear before a regional trial court in Basey town, Samar, where she appeared as defense lawyer of Elpidio Romanca, who was charged with illegal possession of firearms by the military and was tagged as a rebel member.