The highest court in the Philippines wants to look into the service of search warrant against Mayor Rolando Espinosa.
The Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into the issuance of court of the search warrant against the late mayor of Albuera, Leyte inside the detention facility.
This was after the death of Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. who were killed by police agents in his cell at the Baybay City sub-provincial jail on November 5.
The order was announced by Supreme Court spokesperson Atty. Theodore Te on Tuesday afternoon.
“The Supreme Court has ordered an investigation on the circumstances relevant to the reported issuance of a search warrant directly to the CIDG [Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] that has led to the death in custody of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa,” Te said at a press conference.
To recall, Espinosa, who was earlier announced as included in the narco-list, was killed by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group who claimed the mayor tried to shoot it out with them. According to the PNP members, they were supposed to serve a search warrant on Espinosa for supposed illegal possession of firearms.
During the same day, another inmate, Raul Yap, who is the subject of search warrant for alleged possession of illegal drugs, was also killed in another cell, when he supposedly tried to shoot it out with the personnel of CIDG.
According to the CIDG Region 8, both search warrants were issued by Judge Tarcelo Sabarre Jr. of the Regional Trial Court branch 30 in Basey, Samar.
But, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Espinosa and Yap came under controversy after the regional police office released confirmation that there was no coordination from the CIDG and the personnel of Baybay City sub-provincial jail.
The personnel of the jail said the agents did not have copies of the warrants with them but nevertheless forced their way into the detention facility.
Recently, the national headquarters of Philippine National Police sent team to Leyte to have an investigation of the incident.
PNP Chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa assured there will be no whitewash on the probe.