The matter of impunity
Not only was former Albuera, Leyte mayor Rolando Espinosa the sole “big fish” who was killed at the height of the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs, the circumstances surrounding his death also became a cause celebre, sparking a congressional probe the coverage of whose proceedings was followed closely by a concerned public. It is not surprising, therefore, that the recent twist in the case has caused an uproar.
Nineteen cops, most of them members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 8, were charged with murder for the killing of Espinosa and another inmate inside a sub-provincial jail in Baybay City in Leyte in November last year. Espinosa was detained there weeks after he surrendered to the police following a pronouncement by President Rodrigo Duterte linking him to the illegal drugs trade.
But a Department of Justice (DOJ) resolution promulgated last May 29 and signed not by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre but by Justice Undersecretary Reynante Orceo recommended the downgrading of the charges from murder to mere homicide because the killing of Espinosa and the other inmate was not premeditated. The resolution claimed that “not a single witness was present during the pre-operation meeting where it was surmised that the ‘plan’ was hatched by the respondents.”
In response, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 14 in Baybay City allowed the amendment of the charges and released the respondents after they posted bail. The development did not sit well with senators who had signed the report of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs that earlier recommended the filing of murder charges against the policemen. Sen. Panfilo Lacson, the committee chair, now wants the Senate to denounce the DOJ move.
Impunity is defined as “exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action.” But the charges against the 19 policemen have not been dropped and they can still be punished if found guilty. The downgrading of the charges, though, considering the circumstances surrounding the killing, could be seen as an attempt to treat the respondents with kid gloves, which is impunity said differently.