Marcos
BAYBAY CITY, Leyte — The local court has ordered the arrest of the leaders and members of the raiding team who shot and killed Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. while inside in detention last year.
Judge Carlos Arguelles of the Regional Trial Court Branch 14 here issued the warrants against Supt. Marvin Marcos, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas (CIDG-8) and 18 others involved in the pre-dawn raid conducted on the cells of Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, at the sub-provincial jail of Baybay on Nov. 5.
No bail was recommended for the CIDG-8 operatives.
The warrants, which were released on Friday, stemmed from the multiple murder charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation after its investigation showed that the killing of the mayor and Yap was a rubout orchestrated by CIDG-8 led by Marcos.
Sources from the Police Regional Office in Eastern Visayas (PRO-8) told the Inquirer that Marcos and Supt. Santi Noel Matira had surrendered at the CIDG-8 office in Tacloban about 6:30 a.m. on Monday with other CIDG-8 operatives.
Aside from Matira and Marcos, also named in the arrest warrants were Chief Insp. Leo Larraga, Senior Insp. Fritz Blanco, Senior Insp. Doegracias Diaz, Insp. Lucredito Candilosas, SPO4 Melvin Cayubit, PO3 Johnny Ibañez, SPO4 Juanito Duarte, PO1 Lloyd Ortigueza, PO1 Bhernard Orpilla, SPO2 Benjamin Dacallos, PO3 Norman Abellanosa, PO1 Jerlans Cabiyaan, PO1 Clixto Canillas Jr., SPO1 Mark Christian Cadilo, PO2 John Ruel Doculan and PO2 Jaime Dacsal.
The Inquirer went to the CIDG-8 headquarters on Monday afternoon but was not allowed to go inside the compound by the security guard.
“Bawal po (It is not allowed),” was the only explanation given to Inquirer.
Matira was the supervising officer of the raid conducted on the cells of Yap and Espinosa about 3 a.m. of Nov. 5 purportedly due to reports that they had not stopped selling illegal drugs inside the facility.
The CIDG-8 claimed that the two put up a fight, even if the cells were dark after the lights were turned off, prompting the operatives to shoot them back.
But both the Senate inquiry and the NBI investigation showed that neither Yap or Espinosa was armed at that time of the raid.
In a joint 34-page report, Senate committees on public order and dangerous drugs, and on justice and human rights, said Marcos and his men were guilty of grave abuse of authority and were involved in the premeditated killing of the mayor./Inquirer.net