ALBUERA, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Jr. is now detained in a sub-provincial jail after his arrest on Wednesday for violating laws against illegal drugs and firearms.
Leyte police provincial director Sr. Supt. Franco Simborio took Espinosa from the Albuera police station where he had been under protective custody to a sub-provincial jail in Baybay City at 10:50 a.m.
Judge Carlos Arguelles of the Regional Trial Court Branch 14 in Baybay City issued the warrant of arrest on Tuesday or a day after the provincial prosecutor’s office recommended the filing of cases against the mayor and his son Kerwin, the alleged top drug lord in Eastern Visayas.
The Espinosas are facing charges for violations of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
Arguelles said the court only issued the warrant of arrest on Wednesday since it took time for the provincial prosecutor’s office to complete preliminary investigation.
The prosecutor found on Tuesday “probable cause” for the filing of criminal complaints against the Espinosas.
“We should not be faulted, the court only acts on cases that are filed. The court has nothing to do with the delay if there’s any because the case was only filed on Monday afternoon. Yesterday I conducted personal examination on the resolution of the prosecution including the evidence and I was satisfied that a probable cause exists against the accused,” he told reporters.
“The provincial prosecution follows its own rules,” Arguelles added.
The judge vowed that there would be no special treatment for the mayor, asserting the “superiority of the court’s power to detain him in an ordinary penal institution.”
“Espinosa will be treated as an ordinary detainee. His cases are just ordinary. They are sensationalized because he is a public official,” he said.
The two cases stemmed from a police raid on the mayor’s house that yielded 11 kilograms of shabu worth an estimated P88 million and high-power firearms.
Espinosa surrendered to Police Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa on Aug. 2, a few hours after President Rodrigo Duterte demanded his and Kerwin’s surrender within 24 hours or risk being “shot on sight.” Kerwin remains at-large.
After four days, Dela Rosa kicked Espinosa out of his house after Kerwin failed to meet the deadline for his surrender.
The mayor was admitted to a hospital in Cebu after he left Camp Crame on Aug. 6.
He returned to his hometown on Aug. 16 and stayed at the town hall for about a week before he asked for police protection.
Driven by fear for his life, the mayor held office at the town police station starting Aug. 25. His son has been hiding in Malaysia, according to police reports.
