On March 2, 2017, the panel of prosecutors created by DOJ Department Order No. 890 found probable cause to indict several police officers in the Mayor Rolando Espinosa slay case.

Altogether, the 24 members of the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) were determined to have criminal responsibility for the murder of Albuera Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa and inmate Raul Yap.

The panel prosecutors found that the killings of Mayor Espinosa and Yap were attended by treachery and the respondents used stealth to carry out the raid. They were armed and they clearly outnumbered the victims. The panel likewise determined that the respondents strategically positioned themselves to secure the ingress and egress of the jail facility.

It was also determined that evident premeditation was also present since the attack was well planned, with the execution of the killings under the deception of implementing a search warrant.

The panel of prosecutors also recommended the filing of administrative charges against the judge who issued the subject the search warrant.

“The filing of this case in court precipitated the issuance of the arrest warrants against the concerned PNP-CIDG personnel. This is the arrest warrant that Chief PNP Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was referring to. It is said that the dead cannot cry out for justice. It is the duty of the living to do so for them. We hope that by the combined efforts of the NBI and of our Prosecution Service, we can really serve justice in this case,” Justice Secretary Aguirre II said.