ILOILO CITY—The assignment of controversial police official Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido to this city has been canceled, the Western Visayas police office announced on Saturday.
Espenido will remain under the Northern Mindanao police office, Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, Western Visayas police director, said in a press conference on the killing of alleged Western Visayas drug lord Richard Prevendido.
Binag said he did not know if the cancellation of Espenido’s assignment as head of the Iloilo City Police Office was related to the killing of Prevendido who was gunned down in a police operation Friday evening.
He said they received the order on Saturday morning from the Philippine National Police (PNP) national headquarters.
Binag said they also received on Friday an order assigning Senior Supt. Henry Biñas, former Negros Oriental police director, as ICPO director.
President Duterte earlier this week had assigned Espenido to Iloilo City after again tagging Iloilo City as “most shabulized” and Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as a “drug protector.”
Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, PNP chief, subsequently announced that Espenido would head the ICPO.
But this triggered questions on Espenido’s qualifications because he is two ranks lower than a Senior Superintendent, the rank required to hold the post of Iloilo City police director.