THE Philippine National Police relieved on Monday (November 7) the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas (Region 8) as the national police investigated the death of detained Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr inside his jail cell.
Supt. Marvin Marcos was relieved as CIDG-Region 8 head on Monday upon orders of the CIDG headquarters, according to an Inquirer report that quoted Chief Inspector Ma. Bella Rentuaya, Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas information officer.
Rentuaya was quoted as saying that this was part of the standard operating procedures as the PNP investigated the circumstances behind the death of the slain mayor, father of suspected drug lord Roland “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr.
It was reported that Chief Supt. Elmer Beltejar, police director for Eastern Visayas, was surprised with what happened to Espinosa as the CIDG Region 8 failed to coordinate with his office.
He has already ordered the Regional Internal Affairs Service to conduct an investigation to determine if the proper procedures were followed during the serving of the warrant.
A spot report that initially reached PNP headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City on Saturday said that the incident happened at around 4 a.m. November 5 when operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Eastern Visayas led by Chief Inspector Leo Laraga had an alleged shootout while serving the search warrants to the detainees, Mayor Espinosa and drug suspect Raul Yap, inside their jail cell.
The report claimed that Mayor Espinosa and Yap resisted the search, and that a brief shootout followed. It did not give any specifics on how it happened. The two detainees succumbed to gunshot wounds.
The serving of the search warrants happened inside the jail cell located in Barangay (village) Hipusngo, Baybay City. This jail is administered and managed by the provincial government of Leyte.
The search warrant was for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the “Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Act” for Mayor Espinosa, while the search warrant for Yap was for violation of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
The search warrants were issued by regional trial court branch 30 of the 8th Judicial Region in Basey, Samar Judge Tarcelo Sabarre.
The search warrants were only marked received at 11 a.m. on Saturday, about seven hours after the CIDG operatives forced their way into the Leyte Subprovincial Jail.
It should be recalled that Espinosa, on August 2, travelled from Leyte to Camp Crame to surrender to PNP chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, saying he feared for his life. He then volunteered information about the drug activities of his son, Kerwin, who was then still at large. He said his son got his supply of illegal drugs from detained drug lord Peter Co and from a local prison in the town of Abuyog in Leyte. He also named several police officers, members of Congress—including a senator—as being in cahoots with his son Kerwin in his illegal drugs business.
On August 16, Espinosa returned to his hometown in Leyte closely monitored by police. On October 5, he was arrested for illegal possession of drugs and firearms and was brought to the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail in Baybay City.
He was then already expecting that his application to be part of the government’s witness protection program would be approved.