TACLOBAN CITY — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has launched a fact-finding investigation into a viral video showing armed men in civilian clothes alongside police personnel at a checkpoint in Albuera, Leyte, raising questions over who authorized their presence and what role they played in the operation.
The incident occurred on September 2, 2026, at a border control point in Barangay Benolho, Albuera, near the boundary with Ormoc City. The video circulated widely on social media and prompted the Leyte Police Provincial Office (LPPO) to immediately investigate.
The controversy intensified after the video appeared to show individuals wearing civilian clothes and carrying firearms while helping flag down and inspect passing vehicles, with uniformed police officers also present at the checkpoint.
NBI wants answers
NBI Eastern Visayas Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc personally went to Albuera on September 4 and met with Mayor Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa as the bureau began its own fact-finding inquiry.
Lotoc said the NBI wants to establish exactly what happened, identify the people involved and determine the possible implications of the incident for peace and security in the municipality.
The investigation will include obtaining records and documentation and determining which government agencies or individuals may have been involved, according to Lotoc.
The NBI investigation is separate from the police inquiry already being conducted because police personnel were involved in the incident.
Lotoc also said the video was alarming because checkpoints are ordinarily expected to be operated by authorized government security personnel. He stressed that the NBI’s findings would have to be based on facts and evidence rather than speculation.
Police personnel relieved
The controversy has already triggered administrative action within the police force.
The LPPO earlier ordered the relief of police personnel assigned to the checkpoint while the investigation is underway. The Albuera police chief, Maj. Franklin Romeo Parangan Jr., was also relieved/recommended for administrative relief pending the outcome of the investigation.
The Philippine Star reported that Parangan was replaced by Lt. Jefrey Banquilay as officer-in-charge of the Albuera police station. The report also said a total of nine other police personnel were relieved from their posts.
Eastern Visayas police officials said the operation itself was connected to information concerning a supposed assassination plot against Albuera Mayor Kerwin Espinosa.
According to the police explanation cited by The Philippine Star, the armed men seen in the video included members of a composite local police intelligence team together with uniformed officers. However, authorities were also investigating the reported presence of an armed civilian among them.
Who was the armed civilian?
One of the most important questions now facing investigators is the identity and authority of the civilian seen carrying a firearm.
Police officials said the individual was reportedly an employee of the municipal government. If investigators establish that the person was carrying a firearm without the necessary authority, appropriate legal or administrative action could follow.
Mayor Espinosa, meanwhile, welcomed the NBI investigation and said he was prepared to cooperate.
Espinosa acknowledged that one of the armed civilians shown in the video was part of his security detail. He claimed the security personnel became involved after they noticed a white van that allegedly appeared suspicious.
He further claimed that the people inside the vehicle were PNP intelligence personnel, although questions remained over why they were being monitored by his security detail and why civilian personnel were apparently present during the operation.
Those claims are among the matters investigators are expected to examine.
Why the checkpoint issue matters
The controversy goes beyond the identities of the people captured in the video.
PNP checkpoint procedures place strict requirements on who can exercise authority during checkpoint operations. Existing operational guidelines state that checkpoints are to be authorized by the PNP and manned by appropriate police personnel. Civilian participants may be allowed in limited roles, such as observers, but the guidelines specifically prohibit civilian components from carrying firearms during checkpoints.
Checkpoint searches are also subject to legal limitations, with routine inspections generally confined to visual searches unless circumstances provide the legal basis for a more extensive search.
This is why the presence of armed civilians at an apparent police checkpoint has become a significant issue for investigators.
Investigation now widens
The LPPO has said it will determine the identities, authority and circumstances surrounding the armed individuals and promised that anyone found to have violated laws, rules or regulations would face appropriate action.
The NBI’s involvement now adds another layer to the investigation.
For residents of Albuera, the central question is no longer simply who appeared in the viral video.
Investigators must determine who authorized the operation, who was legally allowed to carry firearms, what authority the civilians had, what happened during the vehicle inspection, and whether any laws or police procedures were violated.
For now, no final finding of wrongdoing has been announced against the individuals shown in the video. The NBI and police investigations remain ongoing, and the allegations must still be established through evidence and due process.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.S
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