TACLOBAN CITY – Kerwin Espinosa expressed concern about the possibility of a whitewash by the police following the alleged involvement of seven Ormoc City police officers led by city police chief Police Col. Reydante Ariza in the assassination attempt against him on Thursday, April 10.
Kerwin, Albuera, Leyte mayoral bet, was shot in the right chest while attending a campaign rally in Barangay Tinag-an at past 4 p.m.
Police were found in a compound where the alleged gunshot came and the supposed getaway vehicles with Espinosa’s tarpaulins placed on them.
Leyte Police Provincial Office chief Police Col. Dionisio Apas Jr., in a media interview, admitted that the Ormoc and Albuera police stations did not coordinate prior to the alleged service of warrants against still undisclosed individuals.
Lawmen discovered several firearms and ammunition in the vehicle. Apas confirmed that one of them was a caliber 5.56mm Armalite rifle that can shoot as far as 500 meters. Espinosa claimed that a Bushmaster caliber 5.56 Armalite rifle was used to shoot him.
Apas said these guns have been submitted for ballistics examination and firearms verification as proof that there is no whitewash of the incident. A paraffin test has been conducted on the seven lawmen to determine if one of them shot Espinosa.
Espinosa questioned why they were brought to the Police Regional Office-8 in Palo, Leyte when the incident occurred in Albuera.
He claimed that their vehicles were not permitted to enter the border checkpoint in Ormoc after he was brought to the hospital.
Apas said the seven police officers were initially brought to the LPPO for security reasons – Ariza, Lt. Col. Leonides Sydiongco, Sgt. Alrose Astilla, Corporal Arvin Jose Baronda, Corporal Jeffrey Dagoy, Corporal Alexander Reponte, and Patrolman Maricor Espinosa.
They were later taken and placed under administrative restrictive custody at the PRO-8 while awaiting cases to be filed against them.
Apas said they are looking into filing frustrated murder charges and violations of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act cases against them.
He added that circumstances do not warrant inquest proceedings and should be handled through regular filing instead.
“Technically, they were not at the crime scene and no direct evidence and testimony is pointing to who among them was involved in the crime,” he said.
Apas said they were ordered by higher-ups to conduct an impartial investigation. “Dapat pulido at konkreto ang kaso na isasampa sa kanila (The case filed against them should be airtight).”
He said that they have created an investigation team with other law enforcement units to ensure a foolproof case.
Apas maintained that they are apolitical. “The PNP’s role is crucial in having a safe, accurate, and responsible elections. The PNP's role is to secure the votes of the people.”
Kerwin urged the Commission on Elections to place Albuera under their control because of alleged “paid cops.” Comelec Chairman Goerge Garcia said the move is no longer necessary since police immediately acted.