BY RUBY SILUBRICO
ILOILO City – The former village chief of Barangay Monica-Blumentritt in the City Proper district here surrendered to the police on Saturday, Sept. 3.
Keith “Dabing” Espinosa submitted herself to the Iloilo City Police Station 1 (ICPS1) at around 2 p.m. after learning that she had an arrest warrant for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act issued on Sept. 2.
Major Shella Mae Sangrines, chief of ICPS1, said Espinosa surrendered to her office but she was later released after posting a bail of P90,000 for her temporary liberty
“We served her arrest warrant early morning of Saturday, but the barangay officials testified that Espinosa was not already a resident and she did not return home after she resigned as village chief sometime in 2018. But she surfaced on Saturday afternoon,” Sangrines said.
Espinosa’s graft case stemmed from her alleged refusal to sign a police document on the inventory of items recovered from a police anti-drug operation in Barangay Monica-Blumentritt sometime in 2018.
The complainant of her graft case was the Police Regional Office 6.
To recall, the then village chief filed for a leave of absence in July 21, 2018 that she extended for another three months starting Aug. 21 until Nov. 21. She cited that she needed to attend to some personal matters.
She again submitted an application for an eight-month leave to the office of the city mayor, but this was not approved.
Section 47 of the Local Government Code provides that the leave of absence of a punong barangay shall be approved by the city or municipal mayor.
Espinosa left Iloilo sometime in 2018 saying that her life was in danger. She received information that a group of armed men was seen near her house.
That time, her husband Jesus “Jingjing” Espinosa Jr., a nephew of then Mayor Jose Espinosa III and a suspected drug personality linked to slain drug lord Melvin Odicta, was detained at the Iloilo District Jail in Pototan, Iloilo.
Jingjing was later transferred to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Keith was also one of the three village officials who were investigated by the Sangguniang Panlungsod for alleged involvement in illegal drugs./PN
