Leyte town mayor surrenders; son still at large
Leyte town mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. has surrendered to authorities after President Duterte issued a “shoot-on-sight” order against him over his alleged involvement in drug operations. His son Kerwin is still at large.
“Mayor Espinosa has surrendered and (is) now under the custody of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa. The son, Kerwin, is still at large,” Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement issued at 11 a.m.
Espinosa vowed to cooperate in the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign and even went to the extent of pinning down his son by squealing his drug supply
sources.
“He said that his son Kerwin is getting the illegal drugs supply from Peter Co, a convicted drug lord who is currently detained at the (National) Bilibid (Prison),” said Dela Rosa in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Dela Rosa himself confirmed that Kerwin Espinosa is listed No. 1 in the watchlist of illegal drugs personalities in Eastern Visayas, accusing him of directly under Peter Co.
The mayor is in the list of President Duterte as protector of illegal drugs, particularly his son, according to dela Rosa.
Aside from Peter Co, Dela Rosa said the mayor also confided to him that his son Kerwin has been also getting illegal drugs supply from another convicted drug lord currently detained at the Abuyog Penal Colony in Leyte.
“I know that there is one convicted Chinese drug lord in Abuyog and another significant revelation of Mayor Espinosa is that his son is also getting supply from Abuyog Penal Colony,” said Dela Rosa.
“So it is not only the Bilibid where we have a problem, it appears that there a lot of correctional facilities who are also into drugs,” he added.
Dela Rosa then revealed that one of the consignees of the floating shabu that was seized recently in Subic is a convicted drug lord currently detained at the Davao Penal Colony.
Surrender or die In an interview, Mayor Espinosa admitted that the reason he surrendered is that he feared for his life after President Duterte’s “shoot-on-sight” order.
“I was really scared of the shoot-onsight order because I still want to live,” said Espinosa, who was with his daughter at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Dela Rosa revealed that Espinosa was accompanied by his lawyer and a fiscal who facilitated his surrender to him.
Dela Rosa also ordered the creation of oversight bodies that would review the performance of police commanders in the conduct of the anti-illegal drugs operations across the country. The Regional Oversight Bodies will regularly assess the implementation of Project Double Barrel in all 18 regions of the country.
Probable cause The National Police Commission (Napolcom) has found probable cause to implicate two of the three police generals in the illegal drug trade, one of them, former Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Director Edgardo Tinio submitted yesterday his counter-affidavit before the commission’s Inspection, Monitoring and Investigation Service (IMIS).
Tinio, his voice cracking and in tears, answered point by point the charges of neglect of duty, conduct unbecoming of a police officer and irregularities in relation to the performance of his duty in a 41-page counter-affidavit.
Strongly belying accusations against him, Tinio insisted that there is no iota of proof to point that he “slept with any drug syndicate nor have any connection with the drug lords adding that he never sniffed shabu or puffed marijuana in his life.
“I declare my innocence. My family, friends and relatives have suffered so much,’’ he added.
Former addict Negros Occidental Rep. Arnulfo Teves astounded his colleagues in Congress when he admitted in a privilege speech that he was only nine years old when he started smoking marijuana. And 16 years before his landslide victory in the 2016 congressional race, he was still hooked on almost all sorts of illegal substance, particularly shabu (metamphetamine hydrochloride).
Now 44, Teves, who belongs to one of the richest families in Negros islands, wants to take an active part in President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign to rid the country of drugs.
Teves declared that he was a former drug addict and was only able to get rid of his vice after being admitted as a patient in a Paranaque City drug rehabilitation center. He candidly stated that he tried to clean himself of the drug menace for years but found himself returning to the habit.
“I can be a very good example to the more than 100,000 addicts out there who surrendered. I have never tasted drugs and even a drop of alcohol for the past 16 years,” he said.
Teves proposed that surrenderees should immediately be taken to an out-patient program that will no longer use costly drug rehabilitation centers but public school buildings. He said each classroom can accommodate 50 drug addicts who will be under the care of counselors.
“We only need 12,500 per person, and two to eight weeks to restructure their lives again,” he said.
Project Double Barrel
Project Double Barrel is the twopronged anti-illegal drugs campaign launched by the PNP that would both focus on the high value targets of illegal drugs and the street-level pushing.
“All Police Regional Offices are directed to constitute and convene their respective Regional Oversight Committees that will assess and evaluate the anti-drugs campaign,” said Dela Rosa.
The Regional Oversight Committees will be headed by the regional director and will focus on the performance of provincial and city police directors down to the town levels.
It is the Regional Oversight Committee, according to Dela Rosa, which would determine if police commanders are meeting the target set by the government to weed out illegal drugs in their areas of jurisdiction.
Dela Rosa earlier vowed to replace police commanders who would not be able to address the illegal drugs problems in the country.
Part of the tasks given to the Regional Oversight Committees are the evaluation of lower units in terms of reduction cities and municipalities in drugs affectation, documentation of arrested drug pushers and users, internal cleansing efforts and identification of local government units which would not cooperate.
He warned that he, through the National Police Commission, could recommend that a mayor or governor be stripped of the deputation power over the police.
Based on PNP records, a total of 402 illegal drugs personalities have been killed either in police operation or by vigilantes from July 1 to August 2.
A total of 5,418 illegal drugs personalities, on the other hand, were arrested in the same period.
The same PNP records also showed that a total of 565,806 have already surrendered to the police under Oplan Tokhang. Under “Oplan Tokhang,” station commanders will ask barangay (villages) captains to submit a list of residents who are into illegal drugs, whether they are pushers, dealers, users and couriers. So far, the PNP has knocked on 223,847 houses of suspected drug personalities.The police intelligence unit will then verify the report and check if these persons are indeed involved in drugs as there are instances where barangay captains themselves are behind the illegal drug trade while some list down the names of their rivals.
Come out in the open
Former Speaker and Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. asked yesterday elected public officials and celebrities who used to be drugs addicts to come out in the open and to emulate Negros Rep. Arnulfo Teves Jr., who admitted to previously using illegal drugs and help President Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
“Elected leaders and celebrities who were former drug users should emulate him by coming out in the open to share how they have reformed and to help the anti-drug campaign of President Duterte,” Belmonte said.
“That would also underscore that there is redemption and a bright future even for addicts. I hope others would emulate his commendable example,” he said.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers hailed Teves’ “admirable” act. “The act of Teves is admirable and should be emulated by others especially people in government service. Ika nga, there is life after rehab,” he said.