TACLOBAN CITY – Charges for violating Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and the Omnibus Election Code were filed against the seven Ormoc City policemen tagged by Albuera, Leyte mayoral bet Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa in a slay try last week.
The complaint was lodged by the Leyte Police Provincial Office before the Leyte Provincial Prosecutor’s Office at the Bulwagan ng Katarungan here on Monday.
Charged were former Ormoc City police chief Police Col. Reydante Ariza, Lt. Col. Leonides Sydiongco, Sgt. Alrose Astilla, Corporal Arvin Jose Baronda, Corporal Jeffrey Dagoy, Corporal Alexander Reponte, and Patrolman Maricor Espinosa.
They were initially brought to LPPO and placed under administrative restrictive custody at the Police Regional Office-8 headquarters in Palo, Leyte.
Espinosa was shot and wounded while attending a campaign rally in Barangay Tinag-an on Thursday.
He said the police officers were found in a compound where the alleged gunshot came and the supposed getaway vehicles with his tarpaulins placed on them.
Leyte Police Provincial Office chief Police Col. Dionisio Apas Jr. said that the Ormoc and Albuera police stations did not coordinate with each other prior to the alleged service of warrants against still undisclosed individuals.
Lawmen discovered several firearms and ammunition in the vehicles. Apas confirmed that one of them was a caliber 5.56mm Armalite rifle that can shoot as far as 500 meters.
Espinosa said that a Bushmaster caliber 5.56 Armalite rifle was used to shoot him.
Apas said the firearms were submitted for ballistics examination and firearms verification as proof that there is no whitewash of the incident.
A paraffin test was conducted on the seven policemen to determine if one of them shot Espinosa.
Espinosa questioned why they were brought to the PRO-8 when the alleged crime occurred in Albuera.
He claimed that his vehicles were not allowed to enter the border checkpoint in Ormoc City after he was brought to the hospital.
Apas said the seven lawmen were brought to LPPO for security reasons.