TACLOBAN CITY – Seven police officers tagged as “persons of interest” in the attempted assassination of Albuera mayoralty candidate Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa are facing a frustrated murder complaint.
Espinosa personally filed a complaint at the Office of the Assistant Provincial Prosecutor in Baybay City on Thursday, April 24, citing eight witnesses who allegedly saw the attack during his campaign sortie in Barangay Tinag-an on April 10.
Clad in a campaign t-shirt and wearing a cloth sling to support his injured arm, Espinosa arrived at the prosecutor’s office under tight security.
He sustained a gunshot wound to the chest in the shooting, which also injured his sister and running mate, Mariel Marinay, and a minor.
“We are filing a case for frustrated murder against these individuals. I sustained a gunshot wound to the chest that could have been fatal,” he told reporters.
“We have a very strong case because we have eight witnesses,” Espinosa added.
The complaint was originally filed on Wednesday but was not accepted due to the incomplete submission of affidavits.
He asserted that one of the officers he identified was the gunman, citing accounts from residents of Barangay Tinag-an, a village around six kilometers from Albuera’s town center.
The seven officers, all assigned to the Ormoc City Police Office, allegedly carried out the attack during the campaign event. They are now under restrictive custody at the PNP Regional Headquarters in Palo, Leyte.
Espinosa also revealed plans to file additional complaints, including illegal possession of firearms and administrative cases.
The same group of officers is already facing separate charges for illegal possession of firearms and violation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban. These were filed by the Leyte Police Provincial Office at the Leyte Regional Prosecutor’s Office on April 14.
Leyte Police Provincial Director Col. Dionisio Apas Jr. confirmed that a separate investigation is underway to determine the officers’ possible criminal and administrative liabilities.
(JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA)
