Rody told Bato to reinstate cop

It was President Duterte himself who issued the order of reinstatement, coursed through his trusted assistant Christopher “Bong” Go.

Duterte ended speculation last night and said he himself had ordered Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa to reinstate Supt. Marvin Marcos as head of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Region 8.

Dela Rosa had said a ranking official, who was later described as his “kumpare,” called and stopped him from relieving Marcos, who was accused by drug trafficker Kerwin Espinosa of accepting millions in payoffs. Marcos led a CIDG team that killed Espinosa’s father in a Leyte jail.

Sen. Leila de Lima said the call was made by Go, who initially denied it. Earlier yesterday, a Palace official also said Dela Rosa would be asked to identify the kumpare.

But last night, Duterte told reporters in Davao City that he himself gave the order so he could better keep track of Marcos’ activities pending a PNP probe of the allegations against the CIDG officer.

Duterte said the probe was finished and Marcos was found “liable. ”

It was not clear if the liability was for the drug payoffs or for the killing of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa, or for both.

“He has to face the charges,”

Duterte said, referring to Marcos. “But… let him maintain the right to be heard.”

Duterte said he had ordered Go to call Dela Rosa. When the PNP chief came on the line, the phone was handed to Duterte.

“I said, do not remove the guy because (he is included in the)… I am doing an investigative job,” Duterte said, referring to Marcos. “I asked that he be reinstated because I was keeping track of his movements. And if we remove him, we would lose track of him.”

The President said former Eastern Visayas regional director Asher Dolina had also been cleared in a probe. But again, it was not clear if this was in connection with drug payola or Espinosa’s killing, which senators have said appeared to have been a rubout.

Dolina is also accused of receiving P3 million in payoffs from Kerwin Espinosa.

“Dolina was cleared. Marcos, positive,” Duterte said last night.

He had earlier debunked De Lima’s claim that Go was the one who called Dela Rosa.

Earlier yesterday, Assistant Communications Secretary Marie Banaag told Malacañang reporters that Dela Rosa would be asked to identify his kumpare.

Banaag did not discount the possibility that De Lima was employing squid tactics when she pointed to Go.

“There are many possibilities. General Bato said it was not Special Assistant to the President Go, so there’s no need to clarify that point,” Banaag said, referring to the PNP chief by his nickname.

She said De Lima could have issued the statement to divert the public’s attention from the ongoing House inquiry into the alleged illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison.

“The issue does not matter anymore since Marcos is in restrictive custody,” Banaag said.

When asked if Duterte would fire Dela Rosa’s kumpare, Banaag said the President would not hesitate to sack anyone involved in influence peddling at Malacañang.

Go had described De Lima’s story as “pure hearsay and unsubstantiated.”

Rody absolves Go

Duterte initially absolved Go of any liability in the accusations hurled by De Lima.

“It’s not true that Bong Go called ( the PNP chief),” Duterte said.

He also said Dela Rosa has the prerogative to remove his men or retain them in their posts whether or not they were being investigated or not.

Bato to De Lima: Identify source

Dela Rosa dared De Lima yesterday to identify her source.

“If she identifies her source, I will name my kumpare who made the request to me,” Dela Rosa said.

Marcos and his subordinates were relieved by Dela Rosa following the killing of mayor Espinosa in an alleged shootout with CIDG officers inside his detention cell at the Baybay City sub-provincial jail last month.

Dela Rosa earlier justified the relief and transfer of Marcos to the PNP holding center at Camp Crame in Quezon City after Kerwin Espinosa tagged him in the illegal drug trade.

But upon the intercession of a “higher authority” at Malacañang, Dela Rosa reinstated Marcos.

The CIDG raid on the Leyte provincial jail was led by Chief Insp. Leo Laraga, who allegedly received P120,000 in monthly payola from Kerwin Espinosa.

Kerwin believes that his father was killed to prevent him from spilling the beans on police officers getting protection money from him.

Leila won’t identify source

De Lima, for her part, declined to reveal her source.

“I will not and will never disclose my source. I cannot breach the confidence accorded to me by my source,” she said.

De Lima instead issued a challenge to Dela Rosa to identify the higher official who gave the order to reinstate Marcos.

“The duty to disclose belongs to him and not to me, since he was the one who revealed that he was given the order to reinstate Marcos,” De Lima said.

Squid tactics

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano accused De Lima of engaging in squid tactics by coming out with baseless allegations against Go in order to divert the public’s attention from her alleged links to illegal drugs.

Cayetano vouched for the integrity of Go.

He described De Lima’s move as an attempt to mislead the public.

“Senator De Lima seems to be resorting to squid tactics as a strategy to get the attention away from the accusations in which she herself is involved,” Cayetano said.

“Instead of facing the drug allegations against her, she found it more fitting to file a case against the President. Now, she is targeting the special assistant to the President with baseless accusations,” he added.

Cayetano said it was improper for De Lima to dish out such accusations based on hearsay against Go, whom he said has an untarnished reputation.

“Secretary Go is a professional, he doesn’t put his own agenda in his professional duties. He is a soldier who follows his commander-in-chief’s directives. He should not be dragged into controversy, especially when there is no clear proof,” Cayetano said. –