Mayor Espinosa laid to rest

ALBUERA, Leyte, Dec. 4 (PNA) -- Slain Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. was laid to rest Sunday afternoon a month after he was killed in a raid at the Baybay City sub-provincial jail.

Thousands of family members, relatives and supporters gathered on Sunday morning hours before the mayor’s burial. The mayor was buried at the town’s public cemetery around 3 p.m. after a mass at the town’s Catholic church.

Mourners were clad in blue shirts printed with "We love Mayor Onick Espinosa" on the front and "Fight for Justice" at the back. Onick is the nickname of the slain mayor, the father of self-confessed Eastern Visayas drug lord, Kerwin Espinosa.

Other supporters wore the mayor’s campaign shirt.

On Saturday night, 3,000 supporters turned emotional during a tribute vigil when Kerwin, who has been jailed at Camp Crame, spoke via phone patch to the crowd, who gathered at the family’s residential complex in Benolho village here.

Espinosa was killed on Nov. 5 when operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group served him a search warrant at his detention cell for allegedly keeping illegal drugs and firearms.

Earlier, Espinosa had executed an affidavit linking more than 200 individuals to his son’s narcotics trade. (PNA)
JBP/SQM/Elvie Roman Roa