Police Colonel Jovie Espenido has accused Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and former President Rodrigo Duterte of directing him to eliminate suspected drug personalities, including Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo “Aldong” Parojinog and his family. Espenido made the allegations during a House investigation into the deaths resulting from Duterte’s controversial drug war.
According to Espenido, Dela Rosa, who was then the Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, suggested that he “neutralize” drug personalities in Albuera, Leyte. This was around the time when Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was killed during a police operation. Espenido shared that the instructions were clear: “Help me, Jovie, and President Duterte in this war against illegal drugs. You will be assigned as the chief of police of Albuera, so the drugs there must disappear.”
Espenido claimed that in police jargon, the term “disappear” often implies “elimination” or killing. He also stated in an affidavit that Dela Rosa had described the local drug kingpin as “tough,” necessitating a strong officer to dismantle the Parojinog drug operations “by all means necessary.”
Following a phone conversation with Dela Rosa, Espenido was transferred to Ozamiz City. Shortly thereafter, Duterte publicly announced that Mayor Parojinog was on the list of officials involved in illegal drugs. Espenido revealed that he met with Mayor Parojinog in a church to give him a chance to surrender, but the mayor did not comply. Nearly a year later, a police operation led to a raid on Parojinog’s properties, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including the mayor and his wife. After the raid, Duterte and Dela Rosa congratulated Espenido’s team, praising their efforts.
In response to the allegations, Dela Rosa denied giving any explicit orders to kill drug suspects. “Is it bad on my part to order neutralization of the drug problem? Did I say something about killing people? I did not say he should kill people,” he told GMA News Online. He emphasized that his instructions were to use all legal means to address the drug issue and that he never instructed Espenido to kill anyone.
Espenido also accused Dela Rosa of protecting another drug suspect, Kerwin Espinosa, the son of the late Mayor Espinosa. He alleged that Dela Rosa was involved in dismissing the cases Espenido had built against Kerwin and his protectors. However, Espenido claimed he was eventually cleared of accusations that he was receiving money from Kerwin’s group.
Former Duterte spokesperson Salvador Panelo supported Dela Rosa’s stance, stating that Duterte’s directive to “clean” Albuera of drugs did not explicitly mean to kill suspects. He argued that law enforcement could “neutralize” suspects if their lives were endangered, a measure allowed under the law.
Espenido remains a controversial figure, having led several high-profile drug operations during Duterte’s administration and facing homicide charges.