CHR to launch independent investigation on Mayor Espinosa’s killing

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Saturday said it will investigate the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and inmate Raul Yap inside the Baybay City Sub-Provincial Jail.

"The commission, through Extra Judicial Task Force Chairperson Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana has already directed the concerned CHR Regional Office to conduct its own independent investigation," the CHR said in a statement.

It assured the public that it will remain faithful to its constitutional duty to "uphold the rights of all without distinction."

The CHR also said in the statement that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other concerned agencies, including the Baybay City Provincial Jail, to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation of the matter "to hold the people responsible for his (Espinosa) death accountable."

It said that Espinosa's killing inside a detention facility "raises serious questions on the responsibility of the State to protect persons deprived of liberty, especially in relation to the primordial right to life of every human being."

"The commission has consistently denounced all forms of arbitrary deprivation of life without due process of law as it transgresses the fundamental right espoused by key international human rights instruments and domestic laws," the CHR noted.

In a separate statement, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno said he has instructed the PNP to investigate the circumstances behind alleged shootout that led to the death of Espinosa and Yap.

Sueno said, in his directive to PNP chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa, the PNP should immediately conduct a probe and gather substantial evidence on the reported firefight between members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Region 8 and the two high profile inmates.

“We want to know if CIDG Region 8 followed standard operating procedures in undertaking this operation and in serving the search warrant to Espinosa and Yap,” he said.

In an interview with GMA News' Balitanghali, Dela Rosa assured the public that there will be no whitewash in the police's investigations into the killing of Espinosa.

Sueno noted that it is necessary for the police to adhere to their operations manual and respect the rights of the suspects as well, unless their lives are endangered.

“It is unfortunate that this operation led to this (death of the inmates), but of course, we also do not want our people (cops) to be the one lying dead in the course of doing their job,” he said.

Operatives of the CIDG Region 8 killed Espinosa and Yap while serving search warrants inside the provincial jail.

Chief Inspector Leo Laraga, who led the raid, said Espinosa and Yap fired at his team first.

Laraga said Espinosa was armed with a Super .38 revolver. In a report by the Police Regional Office 8, police seized a .45 pistol from Yap.

Drugs were also allegedly seized from both inmates. —John Ted CorderoALG, GMA News