The National Bureau of Investigation has filed multiple criminal charges against Supt. Marvin Marcos and members of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Region 8 for killing Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa, Sr. in jail.

NBI Director Dante Gierran said Marcos and all of the members of the CIDG-8 team involved in the jail raid will face multiple murder, robbery, malicious procurement of search warrant, perjury, and planting of evidence.

NBI spokesperson Ferdinand Lavin said the charges were filed Friday at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Espinosa was killed inside his cell at the Baybay sub-provincial jail in Leyte last November 5 after he allegedly shot at police officers who were serving a search warrant.

The town mayor, father of self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa, was killed along with inmate Raul Yap.

Marcos justified the raid, claiming it was done to maintain an element of surprise.

He denied that Espinosa was murdered while pleading for his life.

Several officials, including Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and Albuera police chief Inspector Jovie Espenido, have raised suspicions that the mayor was murdered in a possible rub-out.

The CCTV footage of the alleged "shootout" remains missing.

The Supreme Court has also ordered an independent investigation into a judge's issuance of the search warrant that led to the killing of Espinosa in his own jail cell.

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday admitted he spoke to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald Dela Rosa to reinstate Marcos as head of the CIDG-8.

"Ganito ’yan, si Bong inoderan ko, call. By the time pinasa niya, ang sumagot si dela Rosa. Sabi ko, do not remove the guy because kasali yan sa… I am doing an investigative job," Duterte said.

[It's like this. I asked Bong (Go) to call. By the time he gave me the phone, it was (Ronald) dela Rosa who answered. I told him not to remove the guy because he is included in an investigative job.]

Dela Rosa, meanwhile, on Monday admitted that Marcos was reinstated on the same day of his administrative relief, two weeks before the killing of Espinosa.

Dela Rosa said reinstating Marcos on the day of his administrative relief was unusual but he accepted it because the order came from the President.

"Hindi po pangkaraniwan, your honor. Actually, your honor, to be frank, nagtataka ako, your honor, but who am I to question the wisdom of the President? Meron siyang rason, your honor, which he explained later," he told the Senate.

Dela Rosa said he ordered the administrative relief of Marcos last October 15 because he wanted to investigate Marcos amid reports that he was receiving drug payola. Duterte's order, however, allowed Marcos to walk free.

A widow of a slain police officer on Monday also accused Marcos of being behind the death of her husband who allegedly refused to participate in an assassination plot against Espinosa. - with reports from Ina Reformina and Ron Lopez, ABS-CBN News