Amid his unrelenting war on drugs, President Duterte on Wednesday ordered the return of controversial Supt. Jovie Espenido to Ozamiz City, Misamis Oriental.
In a visit to Ozamiz, the President contacted Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde about the transfer of Espenido amid the clamor from the residents.
Duterte acknowledged that Espenido was “popular” among the Ozamiz residents who feel safer with him.
Espenido previously served as police chief of Albuera, Leyte and Ozamiz which were led by mayors who ended up dead amid the government’s brutal drug war.
The crowd cheered when Duterte talked about the planned return of Espenido to Ozamiz.
“Gusto ninyo ibalik si Espenido?” he asked the audience. The crowd gave a resounding “yes.”
As the President directed the transfer of Espenido, Albayalde could be heard saying on the phone, “Yes, sir. Yes, sir.”
Espenido was recently promoted to the rank of superintendent and transferred to Eastern Visayas.
As Ozamiz police chief, he led the drug raids that killed Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog and several others in 2017. He was also the chief of police of Albuera, Leyte when the drug-linked mayor Rolando Espinosa was shot dead inside his jail cell at the Leyte sub-provincial jail in Baybay City in 2016. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)
