THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has assigned a panel of prosecutors to handle the murder case against the authorities responsible for the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr.
In a Department Order dated December 7, the DOJ directed Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo to lead the probe against Police Superintendent Marvin Wynn Marcos, the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) raiding team who served the warrant against Espinosa, as well as its 23 other members, and Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Unit Operatives.
Completing the five-man committee are Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas, Assistant State Prosecutor Jinky Dedumo, Assistant State Prosecutor Karla Cabel and Prosecution Attorney Moises Acayan.
Aside from the murder charges, the committee is also tasked to handle the additional case filed against two CIDG officers and a former inmate accused of conspiring to obtain the anomalous search warrant against Espinosa and another inmate Raul Yap.
The panel will be the one to decide when to summon the alleged suspects to a preliminary investigation.
On Friday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed multiple murder charges before the Department of Justice against CIDG raiding team led by Marcos, after the NBI investigators found in their probe that the killing was rubout and not a shootout.
Espinosa, the father of Eastern Visayas drug trader Kerwin Espinosa, was killed inside his detention cell in the Bay-bay Leyte sub provincial jail last November 5 by the CIDG operatives serving search warrants. (Sunnex)