Lacson: Kerwin Espinosa ‘must live to tell his story’ 

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday said the government must ensure the safety of suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, son of the late Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa who was killed in an alleged shootout inside his jail cell over the weekend. 

Lacson, chairman of the Senate public order committee, said Kerwin “must live to tell his story.” 

“The imminent deportation of Kerwin Espinosa must be given utmost attention and security concern by this government, if it is really sincere and serious in breaking wide open to identify those in government who benefited from his drug-dealing activities,” Lacson said. 

The senator said some people are already “in touch” with Kerwin as he awaits his deportation from the United Arab Emirates to the Philippines. 

“These are individuals to whom he has already validated several names in his blue book. The list includes recipients of campaign contributions in the recent 2016 national and local elections,” Lacson said. 

“Therefore, unlike his late father, the Albuera mayor, he must live to tell his story,” he added. 

Mayor Espinosa and drug suspect Raul Yap were killed in an alleged shootout inside the Baybay City Provincial Jail on November 5.

According to operatives of the CIDG who shot Espinosa inside his jail cell, the mayor fired at them first.

The CIDG claims the shootout happened when it tried to serve a search warrant on the mayor for possession of drugs and a firearm inside the jail. 

Senator Gringo Honasan proposed to the Senate committee to place Kerwin under the custody of the chief PNP or the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). 

“If Kerwin dies under the custody of the chief PNP, we have a problem. If he dies under the custody of the ISAFP, we have a bigger problem,” Honasan said. 

“If we look at the pattern, those who are placed under protective custody have this interesting habit of dying [while] in custody,” the senator added. 

Lacson said Honasan’s proposal would have to be further studied as Kerwin needs to be presented before the court that issued an arrest warrant against him. — RSJ, GMA News