Quezon City court acquits 19 cops in Espinosa slay

MANILA, Philippines — A Quezon City court yesterday acquitted 19 police officers who were implicated in the killing of Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa inside his jail cell in November 2016.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 104 Judge Catherine Pespes-Manodon cleared the policemen of homicide after the prosecutors were not able to prove their guilt.

Among those acquitted is Col. Marvin Marcos, current director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)’s field office in Region 12.

Marcos, then chief of the CIDG Eastern Visayas field office, led the implementation of a search warrant against Epinosa and Raul Yap at the Baybay municipal jail.

Police claimed a shootout occurred after the two allegedly opened fire at the CIDG operatives. They died at the scene.

Marcos was dismissed as head of the CIDG Region 8 office following the incident. He was ordered reinstated by President Duterte. 

Lawyer Roland Inting, a counsel for one of the accused, said in an interview that the prosecution witnesses could not identify the police officers at the scene of the shootout.