19 cops in Espinosa Sr. slay identified – DILG chief

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