CEBU CITY — “Who put me on the list?,” controversial police official Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido raised this question as he thanked President Duterte for keeping his trust on him despite his inclusion in the list of police officers allegedly involved in the illegal drugs trade.
“I appreciate the wisdom of the President. I do not know him personally, we’re not close and for him to clear me is really something,” Espenido said in mixed English and Visayan.
Duterte has said that Espenido’s inclusion in the drugs watchlist could be a part of a black propaganda against him.
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte believes that Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido is clean,” President Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
Espenido, who granted media interviews when he dropped by Cebu City on his way to Iloilo City yesterday, said his inclusion in the list could have been avoided if there was proper “verification, validation and confirmation.”
“I asked myself ‘why me?’ They can check my track record. I made Albuera, Leyte drug-free in 18 months and Ozamiz City in five months,” said Espenido.
Espenido was one of the 357 police officers who were summoned to Camp Crame by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Archie Gamboa to face the adjudication board.
Espenido admitted that he felt awkward when he found himself together with the same policemen whom he charged with illegal drug cases during his stint in Region 8.
“When I arrived at the multi-purpose hall of Camp Crame, the people there started asking me ‘kasali ka Jovie? bakit nandito ka’,” Espenido recalled.
Espenido said that it was in 2016 when he was included in the list of drug personalities based on the data given by Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr.
Espenido said one of the supposed evidence linking him to illegal drugs trade was a photo showing him and Espinosa’s lawyer Rogelio Bato Jr. in a restaurant in Leyte.
Espenido admitted meeting Bato after he was instructed by then PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa to pick up Espinosa, who at the time surrendered in Camp Crame.
“We talked about legal matters because I was instructed to pick up the mayor at Camp Crame,” Espenido said.
The lawyer was gunned down in August 2016, while Espinosa was killed in his cell in Baybay City in November 2016.
Espenido said his inclusion in the 2016 list was investigated by six government agencies, including the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
Espenido said a resolution was issued in 2017 removing him from the list.
He was surprised that he was included in the list again where he was categorized as a level three drug pusher.
Espenido said it was even more surprising that he was in the same category with Kerwin Espinosa Jr., the self-confessed drug lord who is the son of the slain of Albuera mayor.
Espenido said the issue is not only about his inclusion in the list.
“Instead of ‘why I was in the list?’, the question should be ‘who put me on the list?’,” Espenido said.
Espenido hinted that some people are out to get him.
“Drug pushers are afraid of the police. If there will people who will try to kill me, it will be some people in the government and politicians,” said Espenido.
Espenido said there are fellow policemen who are either jealous or hold grudges against him.
“When I was assigned in Leyte as an anti-narcotic police, I filed cases against my chief and the deputy regional director for administration. I earned enemies in the organization because I wanted to change the system in the government,” he said.
“I was touted as the bounty hunter. I became an official through lateral entry. I was a PO1 (police officer 1) for 12 years but I moved up six ranks higher because of my accomplishments,” Espenido added.
Instead of being upset, Espenido is thankful that Gamboa and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Ano allowed him and the other 356 police officers to face the adjudication board.
“This is a good wisdom by our Chief PNP and DILG Secretary. It shows that there is due process and transparency,” Espenido said.
Espenido, however, suggested that high-ranking officials should also be investigated.
“These PO1s, non-commissioned officers are just victims. They won’t act if there were no orders from their superiors. City directors, regional directors should also be investigated,” said Espenido.
Espenido has no plans of heeding Gamboa’s advice for those included in the drug watchlist to avail of optional retirement.
“I asked this profession from God and it is only Him who can take away this profession,” Espenido said. (Calvin D. Cordova)
