ESPINO 2019 AMBUSCADE

A FORMER board member who has died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and 16 others were charged with murder cases at the City Prosecutor’s Office here for the ambush of former Congressman Amado Espino Jr.  that left him wounded and his two aides dead in Sept. last year.

The new set of suspects were named in a new complaint filed by the police before the City Prosecutors Office in San Carlos City on July 24.

A press statement issued by the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPPO) on July 24 listed the late former Second District Board Member Raul Sison, who died in March this year due to COVID-19, as one of the new suspects in the complaint filed by the Special Investigation Task Group Espino for murder and attempted murder.

Sison’s involvement in the ambush was confirmed by PNP provincial director P/Colonel Redrico Maranan in an interview over DWCM Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan last month.

The other new suspects include Armando Diaz, Sherwin Diaz, Ricky Arambulo, Pong Tamondong, Cezar Agbayani, Arnulfo Alipio, Ernesto Frias Jr., Ronald Anthony Romero, Ernesto Agbayani, Ruseller a.k.a. “Sel”, Fidel Kalbo and five John Does.

The sixteen are added to the initial set of five suspects who are already charged.

The PPPO said the new suspects were positively identified by witnesses as the ones who planned and executed the ambush of Espino’s party riding on two vehicles that wounded him and killed P/Staff Sergeant Richard Esguerra and Agapito Cuison, driver-bodyguard, and, also wounded P/SSgt. Jayson Malsi and Kerwin Marpori. One of security aides of Espino, Anthony Columbino, was unscathed.

Only the names of Armando Diaz and Sherwin Diaz appeared in the information filed by the City Prosecutors Office before the Regional Trial Court of San Carlos City in January. During the preliminary investigation, Armando (Diaz) did not file his
counter-affidavit.

The other initial respondents were Albert Palisoc, Benjie Resultan, Joey Ferrer, Alfred Pascaran, Ronnie de los Santos, Gerry Pascua, Sherwin Diaz, Teofilo Ferrer, John Regalado and Jewel Castro.

The complaint against Castro was dismissed for lack of probable cause since he never had “physical possession” of the Hyundai Elantra car, one of getaway vehicles, One Pediraldo Ras Lucenara was indicted only for obstruction of justice.

The suspects have been filed cases of murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder at the San Carlos City Prosecutor’s Office, aside from other suspected individuals whose cases were filed October last year.

The San Carlos City police, along with the SITG Espino, credit the identification of the more suspects to its relentless investigation and constant follow-up operations. (Leonardo Micua/ Ahikam Pasion/Philstar Wire Services/ECV)

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