Mayor Espinosa’s affidavit leaked online surprises Leyte officials

TACLOBAN CITY, Nov. 9 (PNA) -– Key officials in the province have expressed surprise over the inclusion of their names in the affidavit of slain Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa, Sr. which leaked online.

Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla questioned the timing of the affidavit’s circulation, as it was made public after the death of the mayor.

The document contains the names of officials and private individuals who were said to have received money to protect the illegal drugs operation of the mayor’s alleged drug lord son, Kerwin Espinosa.

“That affidavit was issued months ago and all of the sudden it was circulated on social media. For what purpose? Maybe, because of politics, because Mayor Espinosa is also a politician,” Petilla told reporters.

“I don’t know why it is circulated online because even us, we had a hard time to get a copy of that affidavit. It took us more than a month to finally get a copy,” he recalled.

The governor denied ties with Espinosa. In fact, he said he only met him once, during the mass oath taking of elected officials after this year’s elections.

Espinosa was killed early Saturday inside the Baybay sub provincial jail after he reportedly fought the team of the Criminal and Investigation and Detection Group, which served a search warrant.

Also included in the list are Vice Governor Carlo Loreto, Baybay City Vice Mayor Mike Carry and Leyte 3rd district Rep. Vicente Veloso.

The four officials are members of the Petilla-Loreto-Cari-Veloso political clan, the biggest political clan in the province of Leyte.

Espinosa is not a political ally of the clan, according to the governor. The slain mayor ran as independent candidate, defeating Petilla’s party mate.

The governor recalled that prior to the election, Espinosa asked if he could run under the ruling party, but they rejected the proposal given the latter’s involvement in illegal drugs.

Vice Governor Loreto also denied that he’s personally acquainted with Kerwin Espinosa. However, he admitted that he already met the elder Espinosa during the mass oath taking and during a brief visit at his office.

“This affidavit had been questioned in several instances. The affidavit had to have weight. Maybe there are people who are behind. His brother had already said that that it was not the mayor who prepared it, he was only asked to sign it,” Loreto explained.

For his part, Rep. Veloso said “the affidavit of Espinosa, in so far as it concerns me, is based on hearsay because a witness can testify only to those facts which he knows of his personal knowledge.”

“Because I never met Kerwin Espinosa, Mayor Espinosa, or any of his alleged witnesses in the affidavit, I could not have influenced or protected people I never met,” he added.

Veloso pointed that his recent meeting with the regional director of the Philippine National Police in Eastern Visayas, he was assured that his name is not involved in illegal drugs trade.

“The police regional director personally assured me that according to the intelligence reports gathered by his team, I was clearly not a protector of the drug trade,” Veloso said, in a statement.

The solon reported that since his term in Congress started, more than 2,000 drug dependents have surrendered in his district.

“I have organized Catholic Life in the Spirit seminars to rehabilitate surrenderers and we will build a drug rehabilitation center in Calubian,” he added. (PNA)
LAP/SQM/ROEL T. AMAZONA/EGR