ILOILO City – What happened was an act of self-defense.
This was the claim of Private First Class Bjourn Kirby Esposo, 26, of Barangay Malitbog Ilaya, Bingawan, Iloilo over the shooting incident in Barangay Bolong Oeste, Santa Barbara, Iloilo on March 18 that led to the death of Jail Senior Inspector Andrew Larupay, a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) officer.
Esposo was one of the three individuals tagged as suspects in the deadly road rage.
He never had the intention to kill Larupay, Esposo told Brigadier General Marion Sison, commander of the AFP’s 301st Brigade, and Santa Barbara Police Chief Major Raymund Celoso.
“I introduced myself as a soldier, but he answered me ‘I don’t care, I’m also a policeman’,” he added.
Esposo admitted they had a traffic altercation with the victim in Cabatuan, Iloilo.
All bound for Iloilo City, Esposo and his comrades were onboard an Elf truck while Larupay was in his white car.
According to Esposo, the victim was blowing his horn while waving a gun – signaling the military to let him overtake.
His group then gave way, Esposo said. When they reached Barangay Bolong Oeste, Larupay called out the soldiers to stop. The van halted just a few meters away from the victim’s car.
Esposo claimed that Larupay hit his forehead and asked for his driver’s license and identification card.
Fearing that Larupay would shoot him with the .9mm-caliber pistol he was wielding, Esposo suddenly opened the truck’s door.
Larupay’s gun reportedly fell to the ground after it was hit by the door.
Esposo said he told Larupay not to pick the pistol up, but the victim didn’t listen.
“I have no intention to kill him, but my life was in danger because he was armed,” Esposo said.
His companions Staff Sergeant Nilo Sorolla of Barangay Binangkilan, Santa Barbara and Nilo Silao of Calinog, Iloilo have nothing to do with the killing, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Sison said they had already sent a lawyer to aid their soldiers.
They also deployed some officers to help with the investigation.
“We have to wait for the investigation. We believe that our soldiers were telling the truth because they were disciplined officers. In fact, Esposo had an injury on his forehead that showed that he really was physically harmed,” Sison said.
A murder case has been filed against the three suspects before the provincial prosecutor’s office./PN
