Espino denies hand in killing, gets support from mayor’s kin

MANILA, Philippines - Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. yesterday formally denied having a hand in last December’s killing of Infanta town Mayor Ruperto Martinez. 

Espino submitted his counter-affidavit through his lawyers during the preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday, saying it was impossible for him to have any motive to kill Martinez who he considered “a personal friend and an ally.”

Espino said the charges linking him and Pangasinan first district Rep. Jesus Celeste to the killing were fabricated by their political rivals.

Espino also questioned the credibility of the 16-year-old witness of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – incidentally the son of his trusted aide Jaime Aquino – who implicated them in the killing.

He alleged that the young witness is not reliable since he has “a history of duping people for money.”

In yesterday’s hearing, Espino got support from the family of Martinez whose widow, Crisanta, submitted an affidavit asking the investigating panel to drop the charges against the governor and Celeste.

Mrs. Martinez told the DOJ they have filed a murder case against her husband’s political rival, vice mayoral candidate Florentino Miano, before the Alaminos regional trial court.

She said she had refused to sign the NBI’s complaint as she attested to Espino’s claim that the governor and her husband were close allies under the Nationalist People’s Coalition. – Edu Punay, Eva Visperas