Arrested Philippine Mayor Killed in Prison Shootout

On Saturday, a mayor imprisoned for drug-related charges at a jail in the central Philippines was killed along with another inmate in a shootout, police said.

Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera town in Leyte surrendered to the national police chief in August. This was after President Rodrigo Duterte’s request for him and his son, Kerwin, to stop their participation in the drug trade.

The mayor was detained again on October 5 after he was allowed to go home ealier. He is the second local government official on Duterte’s supposed “narco-list” slain during police operations.

The shootout happened after Espinosa and inmate Raul Yap shot at a team from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). Police said the team was on an assignment to serve a search warrant against the convicts.

“As a matter of procedure, this incident will undergo investigation to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident,” said Superintendent Elmer Beltejar, Eastern Visayas Regional Police Chief.

Police said they retrieved a .38 Super pistol and a .45 caliber pistol from the cells of Espinosa and Yap. A small sachet holding suspected methamphetamine and assorted drug accouterments were also unearthed inside Espinosa’s cell, police said.

The presidential palace called Espinosa’s death as “unfortunate”. Further, it said that an investigation was underway.

Espinosa had publicly denied any role in the drug trade. However, he said his son was selling “shabu” (methamphetamine), which he secures from a jailed Chinese drug trader.

Last month, Abu Dhabi police arrested Kerwin. Purportedly he was among the largest illegal drug operators in the Eastern Visayas region, according to Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa.

Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom, in October, was killed alongside nine of his guards in a shootout, according to police. Dimaukom was a powerful mayor in the Duterte’s problematic home province of Mindanao,.

War on Drugs taking Effect

Police operations as well as suspected vigilantes have killed more than 2,300 people. This is in connection with the anti-illegal drugs campaign since Duterte took office on June 30.

On Friday, Duterte said his campaign against drugs had curtailed the supply to “very low” levels. He also thanked China for supporting his crackdown, but cursed constantly at ally the United States for condemning it.

 

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