IBP-Leyte condemns murder of lawyer Bato, 15-yr-old girl

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — The Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Leyte chapter issued a strong condemnation of the murder of its member, lawyer Rogelio “Boyboy” Bato, and his companion, a 15-year-old female student.

Bato and the girl were gunned down by still unidentified assailants on August 23, in Tacloban City. He was the lawyer of Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera town in Leyte and son, Kerwin Espinosa, who were both accused of illegal drugs trade.

“We urge the police and the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate this murder, identify the perpetrators and bring them to the bar of justice,” the IBP-Leyte statement said.

IBP-Leyte president Patrick Santos, said Bato was a son, a brother, a family man, a colleague and a friend to many. “Atty. Bato does not deserve to die like this, and that needs real justice as soon as possible, like for the other alleged victims of extra-judicial killings.”

Santos said the IBP will continue to ask the police and other investigating agencies for the resolution of this case so that perpetrators, whoever they are, would be charged in the court of law.

As this developed, Tacloban City Police Office director Senior Superintendent Rolando Badi, said investigators are still facing a blank wall on Bato murder probe due to the absence of any eyewitness and evidences that would lead to the identification of the assailants.

Badi, however, assured the public that the police are still pursuing the investigation and gathering of information toward the resolution of the case.

“We are not giving up on the investigation. In fact, we are still in the process of contacting people who could have witnessed the crime,” he said.

The mobile phones of Bato, recovered from the scene by the PNP Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO), were already submitted by the TCPO to the Police Regional Office-8 for information technology experts there to extract some leads from the history of messages.

“We are still waiting whatever informations na pwede natin magamit sa imbestigasyon,” Badi told The Freeman yesterday.

In the case of the slain high school girl, identified later as Angelica Bonita, the police official refused to confirm reports that she was the alleged girlfriend of Bato and was even two-month pregnant at the time of the killing.

There was no official communication also from the PNP Crime Lab, which conducted an autopsy on Bato and the girl, about this reports.

The Freeman, however, had gathered during the wake of the girl at her parent’s house in Tacloban that a boy, only known as Melchor had claimed he was the real boyfriend of Angelica and not Bato. The girl’s parents also know him (Melchor) as such, and never heard about their daughter’s relationship with the lawyer.

But some of Espinosa’s people in Albuera earlier alleged that Angelica was the constant companion of Bato whenever the latter goes to see Mayor Espinosa in that town. All of these, however, remained unverified by the authorities.

Meanwhile, the girl’s remains have been brought to Alang-alang, the hometown of her parents, where she would be interred. Bato is currently laid at the funeral parlor in the city and his burial will be scheduled as soon as his brother, a nurse working in the US, will arrive. (FREEMAN)