POLICE Colonel Jovie Espenido claimed on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, that he received an order from former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa to execute suspected drug personalities as part of the former administration of President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs.
During the resumption of the investigation of the House of Representatives’ quad committee, Espenido said he was assigned as the police chief of Albuera, Leyte and Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental to stop the illegal drugs trade in the area.
“Ang instruction lang (Dela Rosa’s instruction) na tulungan mo ako, Jovie, at saka si President Duterte, about this war against illegal drugs. So, dapat, galingan mo ha, ikaw ang i-assign ko as chief of police ng Albuera, so dapat mawala na yung mga drugs sa Albuera… Yun ‘yung natandaan ko,” he said.
(Dela Rosa’s instruction was to "help me, Jovie, and President Duterte in this war against illegal drugs. So, you need to do well, okay? I’m assigning you as the chief of police in Albuera, so the drugs in Albuera should be gone..." That’s what I remember.)
“Ang police, isa lang ang word, general word na ibigay. Lahat (ng police), alam na namin ang isang meaning din. Pagsabi na mawala, kasali na ‘yung mamatay,” Espenido added.
(For the police, there’s only one general word given. All of us police know the one meaning. When they say to eliminate, it includes killing.)
The House “Quad-committee” was formed to comprehensively investigate the possible link between the proliferation of illegal operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos), illegal drug trade, anomalous land acquisitions, and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the Duterte administration.
Months after he became the President, Duterte named several alleged “narco politicians,” which includes then Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo “Adiong” Parojinog and Albuera, Leyte Mayor, Rolando Espinosa.
Espenido led the anti-drug operation where Parojinog along with his wife and 15 others were killed.
Espinosa on the other hand was killed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) inside his detention in Baybay jail where he was locked up following a raid in his residence which resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs.
Espinosa’s son, Kerwin is a self-confessed drug lord who Espenido believes has received protection from Dela Rosa.
“I believe Chief Dela Rosa was involved in the dismissal of the cases that I built up against Kerwin Espinosa, including the burying of the cases that I was building against his police protectors or coddlers who have been receiving money from him,” Espenido said.
"Kasi I personally reported to PNP Chief dela Rosa at his office in Camp Crame to submit my accomplishment report in my police operations in Albuera. In that meeting, however, he told me that Kerwin Espinosa had alleged that I was on the take from his group for P20,000 per month.. then I told him I was ready to resign if there was evidence that I received money from Kerwin as there is no truth as to this, and I was eventually cleared by Kerwin who said I was the only one who did not get money from him and his group in one of the Senate Hearings where he was invited as a resource speaker,” he added.
(Because I personally reported to PNP Chief Dela Rosa at his office in Camp Crame to submit my accomplishment report on my police operations in Albuera. However, in that meeting, he told me that Kerwin Espinosa had alleged that I was receiving P20,000 per month from his group. I then told him I was ready to resign if there was any evidence that I received money from Kerwin, as there is no truth to this. I was eventually cleared by Kerwin, who said I was the only one who did not get money from him and his group in one of the Senate hearings where he was invited as a resource speaker.)
Espenido also accused the former administration of using the money from Pogos, small town lottery (STLs), and intelligence funds to reward performing police officers amid the drug war.
He said the money from Pogo was going to then-Special Assistant to the President, now Senator Christopher "Bong" Go.
Espenido said the information came from late Clarin, Misamis Occidental mayor David Navarro, who was shot dead in Cebu City in 2019. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)