No special treatment for Marcos, cops in Espinosa slay — PNP

Supt. Marvin Marcos. INQUIRER FILE

Despite being detained by the unit he once led, Supt. Marvin Marcos, along with 18 of his men, will not be getting any special treatment, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Wednesday.

“They are the accused. They are suspects and they will be treated as such,” PNP spokesperson Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said in a press briefing in Camp Crame. “No special treatment is given to them,” he added.

Marcos and his men are accused of murdering Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and Raul Yap during a raid last Nov. 5 at the Baybay City sub-provincial jail in Leyte, where the victims were detained on drug charges.

Over the weekend, Marcos and 18 former members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Region 8 in Tacloban City surrendered to their former unit after an arrest warrant was issued against them.

In several Senate hearings, the former CIDG men said Espinosa and Yap, who were allegedly armed, resisted arrest and were killed in a shootout.

But an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showed that Yap and Espinosa, an alleged drug lord in the Eastern Visayas region, were rubbed out.

Apart from Marcos, also detained at the CIDG detention cell in Tacloban City are Supt. Noel Matira, Chief Inspector Leo Laraga, SPO4 Melvin Cayobit, PO3 Jhonny Ibañez, Chief Inspector Calixto Canillas, SPO4 Juanito Duarte, POI Lloyd Oeriguesa, Senior Insp. Fritz Blanco, PO1 Bernard Orpilla, Senior Insp. Doegracias Diaz III, SPO2 Benjamin Dacallos, PO3 Norman Abellanosa, PO1 Jerlan Cabiyaan, Inspector Lucrecito Candilosas, SPO2 Antonio Docil, SPO2 Mark Christian Cadilo, PO2 Jhon Ruel Doculan and PO2 Jaime Bascal.

Judge Carlos Arguelles Jr. of the Leyte Regional Trial Court Branch 14 ordered the detention of the Espinosa slay suspects at the CIDG provincial cell.

The PNP said it would comply if the court ordered them detained in another venue. CBB