ORMOC CITY-Embattled Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. reiterated his appeal for his son Kerwin to surrender to the government authorities. Espinosa made this tearful appeal during a press conference held at the town police station, where he sought custody since August 27. The beleaguered mayor also asked his son’s associates to surrender as well saying they would be in safe hands with the local police, Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido. “I call for my son Roland ‘Kerwin’ Espinosa, to surrender. Dong Kerwin look at your father, you know very well that I am innocent of all these. I am the one suffering now for what happened”, the elder Espinosa emotionally said in a press conference on August 30. Espinosa had earlier asked his son, whose whereabouts remain unknown, to surrender. The town mayor had surrendered before PNP Director General Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa on August 2 after he was named by President Rodrigo Duterte to be in the illegal drug trade.
Aside from his son, Espinosa also named four personalities whom he said were his son’s friends namely Max Miro, Galo Bobares, Tonipet Saldivar and Ferdinand Rondina.
Rondina is number two in this city’s drug watch list who had surrendered to the police last July. “As mayor of Albuera, I call all of you to surrender to Chief Insp. Espenido and no harm will be done to you,” Espinosa said. The mayor sought police custody on August 27 after receiving threats to his life. He applied for the Witness Protection Program (WPP) after revealing in an affidavit the names allegedly connected to his son, the suspected top drug lord in Eastern Visayas.
He initially divulged members of PNP, government officials, members of Congress and a senator as their protectors to their alleged illegal drug activity. “The truth is, I do not have any involvement of his activities,” Mayor Espinosa said. The father and son were tagged by Pres. Duterte as behind the illegal drug operations in the region. “He is now working as a mayor. Ours is only for protective custody to secure his life according to his request. He is trying now to help the government in identifying the men in uniform and government officials who enjoyed drug money”, Espenido said.
(ELVIE ROMAN ROA)
