Ozamiz mayor ready to work with new police chief

OZAMIZ City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. said Wednesday, December 21, he is ready to work with Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido, the city’s new police chief who was transferred from Albuera, Leyte.

Espenido was involved in the controversy surrounding suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa and his slain father Rolando Sr., who was killed inside his detention cell in Baybay, Leyte, by operatives of the Criminal and Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) last month.

It was Espenido who filed criminal cases against the Espinosas for illegal drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.

Aside from Espenido, 15 other police officers from Albuera received the transfer order as well, said Regional Police Office spokesperson Surki Sereñas.

Sereñas said the officers were supposed to arrive at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional office on December 8 but they requested to report for duty at the PNP-Northern Mindanao headquarters at Camp Alagar, Lapasan village on December 19 instead.

He said the reassignment is part of the PNP national headquarters transfer program, noting that this time the order came from the police chief himself, Director General Ronald dela Rosa, and not from the regional director, as was the usual practice in the past.

Earlier, Espenido said as a police officer it is his duty to obey orders from the PNP higher command although he insisted he did not know why he was being transferred from Visayas to Mindanao.

For his part, Parojinog said he is ready to work with Espenido as Ozamiz’s new city police director.

In an interview Wednesday afternoon, the mayor said he prefers to have a police chief who is not from Ozamiz so he can be effective in helping the City Government’s anti-drug campaign in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive.

Since Espenido is a stranger in Ozamiz, his work will not be influenced by anyone, he said.

“That way, he can really dig deeper and the truth will come out,” Parojinog said, referring to some reports fed to the Malacañang that mistakenly identify local government officials are involved in the illegal drug trade in their locality.

He said he and his daughter, Vice Mayor Nova Princess, were among those in the list of Duterte’s “narco-list,” an accusation Parojinog denied citing his relentless efforts to stamp out the shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) trade in his city even before the president declared war against illegal drugs.

He said his support to the police such as transportation, fuel and other needs will always be provided by the local government no matter who sits as the city police chief.

Aside from an intensified anti-drug campaign, Parojinog said he expects Espenido to re-implement the police visibility, especially in the city’s commercial district to prevent criminal activities.