Witnesses: Ex-mayor Espinosa did not fight back before fatal shooting
MANILA, Philippines — Two witnesses, a jail guard and an inmate, testified before the House Quad Committee, saying that former Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa had no means of fighting back and even pleaded for his life before being fatally shot by police officers.
At the ninth public hearing on Tuesday, October 22, lawmakers summoned inmate Donald "Dondon" Palermo and jail guard Julito Retana from Baybay, Leyte Provincial Jail to share their recollection of how Espinosa was killed in his cell.
In the interpellation of Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro (Batangas, 2nd District), Retana and Palermo denied the allegations of Superintendent Marvin Marcos that Espinosa carried a gun with him in the jail.
Palermo, who was in a nearby cell with a clear view of those entering and exiting Espinosa’s cell, even said that he believes the gun was planted by police officers.
Marcos, in the previous hearing, cited this as justification for issuing a search warrant against Espinosa, who was already detained. He also claimed that police suspected the former mayor of possessing crystal meth, or shabu.
Outside the jail facility
At 3 a.m. of Nov. 5, 2016, the day Espinosa was killed, Retana said he remembers three police cars approaching the detention facility’s gate and forcing themselves to enter.
The police, identifying themselves as members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), demanded entry, claiming to have a search warrant — though Retana said they never showed it to him.
Despite handing over the keys that could open the gate and other doors in the provincial jail, Retana recounted how the CIDG officers forced their way in, broke down the gate, and ordered the jail guards to kneel and "face the wall."
He estimates around five gunshots were fired inside the facility, which he heard from the jail’s perimeter. Even after the killing, Retana said the police officers did not leave all at once.
When the cadaver bags were taken out near noon that day, the jail guard said one contained Espinosa’s body, as they learned from his grieving family outside. The second cadaver bag, identified as Raul Yap’s, was confirmed by inmates.
Espinosa's son, Kerwin, previously informed the committee that, according to his sources, Yap embraced the former mayor before he was shot.
RELATED: Kerwin Espinosa: Bato Dela Rosa forced me to confess, implicate De Lima in drug trade
Both Retana and Palermo, however, said that Espinosa and Yap were in separate cells.
While this particular information did not align with Kerwin’s, Luistro said the testimonies of Retana and Palermo only “bolsters the fact that there is no chance at all for Mayor Espinosa to fight back against the operatives.”
Inside the jail facility
Palermo recalled how chaos broke out in the provincial jail early in the morning of November 5, 2016. Initially, it was quiet, but then three masked individuals wearing bonnets entered and noticed the CCTV.
He assumed they had disabled it when they left briefly because, upon their return, the CCTV’s light had already gone out. The three masked operatives were then seen breaking the lock on Espinosa’s cell.
Palermo then heard the former mayor cry, “Sir, maawa po kayo, Sir. Kahit pa talim wala ‘yun dito sa loob. (Sir, please have mercy, Sir. Not even a sharp object can be found here inside.)”
At one point, Espinosa asked the operatives if he could urinate, but they responded, "Huwag ka nang maihi" (Don’t urinate anymore).
Then came two gunshots, which the inmate said occurred around the same time shots were fired near Yap's cell. The masked individuals were heard shouting “Lumaban! (He fought back!)” repeatedly, after shooting the two detainees.
Palermo said he even remembers how the man who shot Espinosa made eye contact with him after removing his bonnet.
It was then that Palermo realized the operative was no longer carrying his firearm — even the one strapped to his thigh was gone. He suspects these guns were the ones later planted in the cells of Espinosa and Yap.
Reinvestigating the slay
The testimonies of Retana and Palermo recount the details and circumstances of Espinosa’s slay. Lawmakers, however, questioned why no investigation was conducted by the jail guards themselves as well as the validity of the search warrant.
According to Retana, they only relied on the police's investigation.
Meanwhile, Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Partylist) reminded the committee that the Supreme Court's January 2021 ruling found that the search warrants applied for by police major Leo Laraga were improperly endorsed by two judges, who were later fined and given a “stern warning.”
They failed to comply with the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) Circular No. 88-2016, which outlines the proper procedures for endorsing or authorizing search warrants by heads of law enforcement organizations.
Philippine National Police (CIDG) Director General Nicolas Torre III assured the House committee that they have initiated an investigation into Espinosa's murder and are currently reexamining the relevant documents.
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