Seven cops assigned to the Ormoc City Police Station were placed under the custody of the Philippine National Police (PNP) after being tagged as persons of interest (POIs) in the shooting of Albuera, Leyte mayoral candidate Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa, a former self-confessed drug lord.
PNP spokesperson Police Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said Friday, April 11, that the two officials and five non-commissioned of Ormoc City Police were found inside the compound where the suspected getaway car, a Montero sports utility vehicle (SUV), was tracked by authorities during a hot pursuit operation immediately after the shooting incident.
“We have the seven cops under custody and we are determining whether or not they are implicated in the shooting of Mr. Espinosa,” Fajardo said.
Espinosa was seriously wounded after being shot in the chest during a campaign sortie in Barangay Tinag-an in his hometown, Albuera, on April 10.
The mayoral candidate is the son of the late Albuera mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., who was accused by former president Rodrigo Duterte of being a “narco-politician” in the early days of his drug war.
The elder Espinosa was killed inside his cell at the Baybay City Provincial Jail after allegedly fighting it out with cops during a search by elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in November 2016.
During a Senate hearing in 2016, the younger Espinosa reportedly admitted that he was involved in the illegal trade in Eastern Visayas, only to recant it two years later by saying that the remarks he made before the Upper Chamber did not prove he was indeed a drug lord so long as there was no evidence found against him. (Martin Sadongdong)
