Shimura: Espenido good for Cebu

SUN SHIMURA

Cebu fourth district Board Member Sun Shimura would have wanted Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido to head the province’s police force.

Shimura, who chairs Capitol’s peace and order committee believes Espenido would have been very capable in wiping out the illegal drug trade in Cebu province.

“It would have been good if Espenido were assigned here so that those who are still engaged in illegal drugs will be afraid and he is really able to stop these activities,” Shimura told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.

Shimura, however, noted that the success of government’s war on drugs and the implementation of peace and order programs do not only depend on who is sitting as police chief but also on the amount of cooperation given by local government officials.

Shimura, who is also the stepson of Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot, added that had Espenido been assigned in Cebu, the police officer would have been able to clear his stepfather’s name from illegal drug allegations.

Loot, one of the four retired police generals identified by President Rodrigo Duterte as alleged drug protectors, said that he would have welcomed Espenido in his town.

Loot said that it would take no time for Espenido to wipe out the illegal drug trade in Daanbantayan if he will head its police unit.

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he wanted Espenido assigned in Iloilo City.

Espenido led the raid in Ozamiz City last July which claimed the lives of Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog, his wife and other 13 individuals, and the arrest of Ozamiz City Vice Mayor Nova Princess Parojinog and her brother Reynaldo Parojinog Jr.

Espenido was also the chief of police in Albuera, Leyte when mayor Rolando Espinosa was killed in an alleged shootout inside its sub-provincial jail.
Before Duterte’s pronouncement on Monday, Espenido expressed interest to be assigned in Cebu.