7 police officers in custody following shooting of mayoral candidate Kerwin Espinosa

SEVEN police officers are in custody as persons of interest in the shooting of Albuera, Leyte mayoral candidate Kerwin Espinosa, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo announced Friday.

The officers were apprehended inside a compound where the suspected getaway vehicle was found following a pursuit.

Espinosa was shot from behind while at a campaign event on Thursday afternoon. An unidentified assailant, concealed in the stage ceiling, fired an unknown weapon, wounding Espinosa in the right shoulder.

While Espinosa admitted to involvement in the illegal drug trade during a 2016 Senate inquiry, a Baybay, Leyte court dismissed drug charges against him in June 2024.

He still faces money laundering charges and two cases for illegal possession of firearms and drugs, which the Court of Appeals has ordered reopened.

His previous statements to the Senate, he later argued, lacked sufficient evidence to label him a drug lord. The ongoing investigation into the shooting aims to determine the officers’ potential involvement.