Director General Ronald M. dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police, has given up hope that suspected Eastern Visayas drug lord Kerwin Espinosa will surrender and eventually reform.
“There is no longer hope for that kid,” Dela Rosa told reporters in an interview.
Dela Rosa said he has been informed that Kerwin might still be in Malaysia after local authorities confirmed that he was hiding there. He said they are not discounting the possibility that Kerwin is already in the country. There are intelligence reports that he was spotted in Cebu.
Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido, chief of police of Albuera, Leyte, said they are verifying reports that Kerwin had visited his father, Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa, in Cebu several days ago.
Mayor Espinosa went directly to a hospital in Cebu after he was evicted in the White House, the official residence of the PNP chief in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
Dela Rosa accommodated the Mayor and his family as part of the ploy to convince Kerwin that no harm would happen to him if he would surrender.
Dela Rosa had earlier vowed to let Kerwin be killed if he tries to fight arresting cops. Mayor Espinosa has returned to work as local chief executive. (Aaron B. Recuenco)