PALO, Leyte- For derring-do campaign against illegal drugs in his area, Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido, police chief of Albuera, Leyte, received a commendation from the members of the Regional Development Council. Espenido, who just assumed the post last July of this year, conducted series of anti-drug campaign particularly against Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son Kerwin, tagged as the biggest drug lord in the region.
In one of the operations, 11 kilograms of suspected shabu valued at P88 million were recovered from the house of Mayor Espinosa. The recovery was considered as the biggest haul in so far as confiscation of shabu in the region. Espenido had been successful in the anti-illegal drug campaign in the town of Albuera since his assignment to the town last month of July. The embattled mayor had sought for police protective custody and now lives and works at the town police station. Mayor Espinosa had executed an affidavit at the Provincial Prosecutors Office naming personalities and government officials he claimed as their protectors as they carried out their illegal activity.
But Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez raises some points before they could approve the resolution. Gomez said that the alleged 11 kgs of shabu seized from the house of the mayor should first be validated whether these were original or fake. He also asked where the police authorities kept the confiscated shabu. “I think we need to check the authenticity of the drugs seized; who checked its validity; where it is kept right now. It’s easy to commend but we need to be very careful,” Gomez said.
Gomez, however, stressed that he supports and commends the effort of law enforcers in their campaign against illegal drugs. “I support all fights against illegal drugs especially in Ormoc,” Gomez added. In Ormoc alone, more than 2,000 individuals have surrendered to law enforcement operatives under its “OplanTokhang.”
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
