LEYTE Fourth District Representative Richard Gomez took a jab against self-confessed drug lord Albuera, Leyte mayoral candidate Roland “Kerwin” Espinosa for seemingly implicating him in the latter’s failed slay try.
Gomez, husband of Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres, said he is still looking into the circumstances of the incident but initially, he said there were “many flaws to the whole story.”
“Do not believe somebody like him who has no credibility and a self-confessed drug lord. He will not do anything good for mankind,” Gomez said.
“Honestly, para sa akin scripted ‘yung ambush me. Ang pangit ng acting, ang pangit ng pagkagawa,” he added.
Espinosa, his sister Mariel Espinosa-Marinay, who is running for vice mayor, and a minor were injured in a shooting incident during a campaign activity in Barangay Tinag-an on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
Espinosa sustained a through-and-through gunshot in the right portion of his chest.
Seven police officers of the Ormoc City police office, including its chief, Colonel Reydante Ariza, were placed under custody amid the investigation over their alleged involvement in the incident.
Ariza was relieved from his post.
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said the seven police personnel were seen inside a compound where the alleged gunman went after the shooting.
In a press conference on Friday, Espinosa questioned the presence of Ormoc City cops in the area, as he called on Gomez and Torres to look into the matter.
He said there is no doubt that his shooting was politically motivated, noting that his opponent in the mayoral race, Vince Rama, is Torres’ brother-in-law.
Espinosa also tagged Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Leyte Fourth District OIC-Assistant Engineer Peter Scheler Soco as the owner of the house where the seven cops were found during a pursuit operation.
Espinosa identified Soco as Gomez’s “bagman.”
Gomez said, however, that based on his own investigation, there was no hot pursuit operation as claimed by Espinosa but instead, Albuera police chief Major Angelo Sibunga barged in to a private beach resort property where the Ormoc City police personnel were having a barbecue and eating dinner, along with the mayoral candidate’s around 40 armed men, without a warrant.
Espinosa earlier expressed support for former Court of Appeals Associate Justice Vicente “Ching” Veloso III, Gomez's political opponent in the Leyte Fourth District congressional election. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)