Kerwin Espinosa back to work after release from jail
TACLOBAN CITY – Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa returned to work on Monday, Feb. 16, after his release from the Cebu City Jail last week.
His sister, Vice Mayor Mariel Espinosa Marinay, temporarily assumed his duties after a regional trial court issued warrants of arrest on Feb. 4 against him and four others for the 2024 murder of Watari in Baybay City.
The victim's wife visited Espinosa's office on Monday explaining that she was not fully informed about the complaint-affidavit she had signed implicating the mayor.
She added that the case had been closed for a year and was only recently reopened and denied any knowledge of her husband’s killer.
“We just want to clear our names. We do not want any trouble," the victim's wife stated.
She said that police officers fetched her from her eatery and brought her to the fiscal's office to sign an affidavit. However, due to her poor hearing, she was unable to fully understand its contents.
Espinosa appealed to the victim's family to speak the truth, asserting that he did not personally know the victim or his family.
"I was surprised that I suddenly became the mastermind in this case. I need your help to prove that we have no relationship, and I did not know you even from the start."