Rolando Rosal Espinosa Sr., the mayor of Albuera, Leyte, died on November 5, 2016, at the Baybay City Provincial Jail.

The Philippine National Police has alleged that his son Rolando "Kerwin" E. Espinosa Jr. is involved in the illegal drug trade.

[4] On August 1, 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was conducting a nationwide campaign against illegal drugs, asked Espinosa and his son Kerwin to surrender themselves within 24 hours "on the grounds of drug-trafficking and coddling."

[5] Fearing for his life, Espinosa voluntarily surrendered himself at Camp Crame to Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa on Aug 2.

[6] At 5:30 a.m (UTC +8) on August 3, the police had a shootout with twelve armed men with alleged links to Espinosa in Barangay Benolho in Albuera.

[8] On August 6, Espinosa, along with his daughter and wife, left the PNP director general's residence in Camp Crame and went back to Leyte.

[9] On August 7, Duterte announced a list of government officials, police officers, and law practitioners who were allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade in the country.

[11] Judge Tarcelo Sabarre Jr. of the Regional Trial Court Branch 30 issued two search warrants against Rolando Espinosa and Raul Yap, who was also suspected of being involved in illegal drugs, at the Baybay City Provincial Jail in Barangay Hipusngo.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of Region 8, led by Police Chief Inspector Leo Laraga, served the warrants in the early morning of November 5, 2016.

They urged Duterte to condemn Rolando Espinosa's killing and labeled the incident as a setback for the president's war on drugs.

It noted that Paul Olendan, whose perjured affidavit the warrant was based on, was in Leyte National High School in Tacloban at the time he claimed to have visited the Baybay Jail.

[17] Espinosa was buried at the Catholic Cemetery in Albuera, Leyte on December 3, 2016, following a requiem mass at the Saint James Parish Church.