WHILE Malacañang chose not to comment on the killing of detained Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., lawmakers said on Saturday they would seek an investigation of the incident which was described “biggest challenge to the credibility of the [Philippine National Police].”
“Right now it’s really under investigation so we cannot give an actual comment,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said on state-run radio dzRB.
But both several lawmakers they will seek congressional investigations of the incident.
“Offhand, I can smell EJK,” said Senator Panfilo Lacson, who was himself a director general of the Philippine National Police during the term of former President Joseph Estrada. “I base my conclusion on the circumstances that surround the killing.”
Lacson said he will ask Senator Richard Gordon to resume the probe into alleged extra-judicial killing. “I will discuss the possibility of resuming the EJK investigation with Justice Committee chairperson Sen. Richard Gordon and focus on the Espinosa killing when session resumes on Monday,” he said.
Lacson said the incident is the “biggest challenge to the credibility of the PNP” and “could affect affect even the other operations involving drug suspects killed under similarly suspicious circumstances.”
“I can’t understand for the life of me how a prisoner inside a prison cell could even think of fighting back against police officers serving a warrant for his arrest,” Lacson added.
In a separate statement, Gordon said Espinosa’s killing was “a dagger in the heart of the criminal justice system as it appears that even those who are in the custody of the law are no longer safe.”
“How can we encourage suspects to surrender under the law in this situation? It’s a slap on the face of the rule of law and it signals a more desperate system – a ‘take no prisoners’ approach. This creates an atmosphere of intimidation and fear and puts everybody in danger,” Gordon said.
“It is in the public interest to dispel speculations as well as to allay fear among our people. The police must show that it is responsible and capable of protecting its citizens and delivering justice to them under the rule of law,” he said.