By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Testifying before the House Quad Committee conducting an investigation in aid of legislation on the “bloody drug war” during the administration of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Police Colonel Jovie Espenido on Wednesday (28 August 2024) divulged that former police chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa ordered him to kill suspected drug personalities, including Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog and his family.

This was revealed by Espenido on the third hearing of the House Quad Committee, which was formed to check the correlation between illegal activities in Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hubs, the illegal drug trade, and the extra-judicial killings (EJKs) in the course of the campaign against illegal drugs during the Duterte administration.

“Ang instruction lang na tulungan mo ako, Jovie, at saka si President Duterte, about this war against illegal drugs. So, dapat, galingan mo ha, ikaw ang i-assign ko as chief of police ng Albuera, so dapat mawala na yung mga drugs sa Albuera. “’Yun yung natandaan ko,” Espenido told the House panel.

Espenido also claimed that Dela Rosa insinuated that he “neutralize” drug personalities in Albuera, Leyte where the mayor, Rolando Espinosa, also died during a police operation.

“Ang police, isa lang ang word, general word na ibigay. Lahat [ng police], alam na namin ang isang meaning din. Pagsabi na mawala, kasali na ‘yung mamatay,” Espenido added.

In his affidavit submitted before the House Quad Committee, Espenido quoted PNP Chief dela Rosa saying that the “local drug kingpin was also tough so it required a tough officer like me to dismantle the Parojinog drug operations by all means necessary.”

“In police language, it included neutralization or elimination of the target. Moments after my phone conversation with Chief Bato, he issued a formal order to cause my transfer to Ozamiz. It was President Rodrigo Duterte himself who announced in August 2016 that Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog was included in his list of public officials involved in illegal drugs, in national television during one of his press briefings in Malacañang,” Espenido narrated in his affidavit.

ia/mnm