It is shocking to know that the policeman who received all the praises from President Rodrigo Duterte is now under investigation for allegedly being a protector of people involved in illegal drug trade.
Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, a well known anti-drug crusader even before Duterte became President was among the 357 policemen who were relieved from their post and placed under investigation. He is reassigned to the Office of PNP chief Lt. General Archie Gamboa.
A source said that Espenido allegedly serves as a protector of people who are involved in illegal drug trade in Ozamis City. The alleged group is the rival of the Parojinog clan in the area.
Espenido became very prominent when he served as the chief of police in Ozamis City in 2017. It was the time when he and his team raided the houses of the Parojinogs that resulted to the killing of Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., his wife Susan, his siblings and fifteen others.
The mayor’s son Renaldo Jr. and daughter Nova were the ones who were left alive after the raid. They have been behind bars in Camp Crame for the crime of engaging in the illegal drug trade. It’s a public knowledge that the Parojinogs are drug lords in the area.
Prior to his assignment in Ozamis City, he served as chief of police in Albuara, Leyte where he raided the house of the late Mayor Rolando Espinosa, the father of Kerwin, a self-confessed drug lord. During his term as chief of police, the mayor was gunned down in his detention cell by members of CIDG.
Espenido’s accomplishments reached the President Duterte’s office. The latter even assigned him in Iloilo City for another important mission. It was not realized after the people of Ozamis City requested Espenido to be retained as their chief of police.
Another reason that came out was that Espenido was not a full pledge colonel yet, a minimum rank requirement for the chief of police in a highly urbanized city such as Iloilo. It was reported also that there were full pledge colonels who questioned Espenido’s qualification to lead a highly urbanized city.
To date, Espenido is holding the rank of Lt. Col after being promoted twice during the first half of Duterte’s term. He started as ordinary policemen with the rank of PO1 or private.
He experienced the terrible sluggish promotion as he was hit by politics within the PNP organization. Hence, it took him many years of dedicated hard works before he became a commissioned officer.
Every time I interviewed him, he mentioned Bible verses. I can sense his sincerity as a person and as a police officer. Hence, it’s difficult to believe he is a drug protector.
I hope the PNP leadership would accelerate the process of investigation so that, although it is far-fetched, if he is guilty then he should be penalized. But if he is cleared then he should be given another assignment as many want the brand of service that he has had.
The PNP leadership should also analyze carefully as to who made the allegations that Espenido is a protector of Parojinogs’ rival. The parojinogs? The Espinosas? How could he become a protector when his years of assignments were in Leyte, a province far from Ozamis, City? How come when he was assigned in Ozamis in just a short period of time? Is it believable that he became a drug protector during the Duterte’s term when he was an anti-durg crusader long before Duterte became president?
The angle of envy within the PNP high ranking officials should also be looked into. After all, Cain treacherously murdered his brother Abel because of envy.