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Albuera police chief: I did not threaten the mayor

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PALO, Leyte- The town police chief of Albuera, Leyte said he has not done anything to frighten Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. whose son, Kerwin was acknowledged as the region’s number one drug lord. This was Chief Insp. Jovie Espenido’s statement in response to the claim of the controversial mayor that he left the town because of death threats purportedly made by town police chief on July 22 or just five days after he assumed the post at the town police station. “Why threaten him? We are the police and we are the protectors. I should have killed him instead of scaring him because it’s not the attitude of a policeman to frighten someone,” Espenido said during a press conference held at the regional police headquarters, this town on Thursday (August 4). The town police chief recalled that two hours after he was assigned to Albuera, he got a call from Espinosa, expressing his plan to surrender. “I asked him why he would surrender. He said he would do it since he was told that he’s on the drugs watch list,” Espenido recalled. The mayor was then asked to bring his son instead, but the mayor said it was impossible for Kerwin to surrender since he’s in abroad, according to Espenido. After few days, the mayor’s daughter called up the town’s police chief, informing them that the mayor changed his mind about yielding to authorities since he has not committed any crime.

“He reportedly left Albuera July 22 until I saw him on TV after surrendering at Camp Crame,” the official recalled. The beleaguered mayor, who is serving on his first term, surrendered to Police Director General Ricardo “Bato” de la Rosa after President Rodrigo Duterte issued a 24-hour ultimatum for him and son Kerwin to surrender.  Espenido hinted that the mayor is scared because he’s done something illegal, citing a Bible passages from Proverbs 28:1 in criticizing the mayor – “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Asked whether the local police can assure the safety of the mayor upon his return, he said: “He can come back because people voted for him. But no one can assure of his safety 24 hours especially on Saturday because I am at church.” Police provincial director Sr. Supt. Franco Simborio said Espenido is the most qualified official to lead the Albuera police station. “Between the last quarter of 2015 until July 2016, we have assigned four town police chiefs to Albuera until we found the right man for the right job,” Simborio said, referring to Espenido.

Espenido recalled that before he came to Albuera, the local police are Kerwin’s friends. “He always showed up at the police station and brought meals and refreshments for the police.” The new Albuera is a known “drug buster cop.” He was born in 1968 in San Miguel, Surigao del Sur where his family currently stays. The 47-year old police official is married to Shiela Bandal from is from Barangay Tubod of Isabel town here in Leyte where his family currently lives. He is a licensed criminologist with background in electronics. Espenido entered the police service on September 16, 1996 assigned in Regional Mobile Group in Negros Oriental. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)

Gov. Petilla to Mayor Espinosa: “Resign”

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TACLOBAN CITY- Controversial Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa should better tender his resignation. This was the opinion of Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla as the town mayor is being accused to be involved in the illegal drug trade together with his son, Rolan who is most known as “Kerwin.” “If I were him, I will resign considering that he was implicated in the illegal drug trade. But it is really up to him whether he will step down or not. The people of Albuera voted him as their mayor,”Petilla said.

Espinosa, ran and won as mayor of Albuera as an independent candidate during the May 9 elections. The embattled town mayor garnered 12,242 votes defeating three other opponents, including then mayor Ramon de la Cerna, Jr. de la Cerna, who was serving on his first term, resigned from the post on May 19 citing his poor health condition as his reason. However, there were reports that his resignation was more on security reason. Artemio Caneja, provincial local operations officer, meantime, said that the vice mayor, Rosa Meneses, could assume the post as mayor if Espinosa could not report within three days.

“That is according to the rule of succession under our Local Government Code,”he said. It was learned that Espinosa has not reported to office since last month after he was implicated in the illegal drug trade. Based on police information, the town mayor and his son are considered as the region’s top drug supplier. President Rodrigo Duterte asked Espinosa to surrender which he did. He surrendered to Police Director General Ronaldo “Bato” de la Rosa on Tuesday (August 2).  Senior Supt. Franco Simborio, Leyte police director, said that Espinosa and his son are considered as high value targets. Simborio, in particular, said that the young Espinosa is operating his illegal drug trade not only in Leyte but in other parts of the region to include Cebu. “He belongs to our category as level three meaning he is at the highest level. His operation is not only here in Eastern Visayas but even outside the region like Cebu,” he said.

The police provincial director said that the Espinosa family operate the illegal drug trade as a “family enterprise.” “They are into the illegal drug trade running it as a family enterprise, business with the son (leading the illegal trade),” Simborio said. The family owns a hotel in Albuera, 138 kms away from Tacloban City. The young Espinosa had been arrested nine times, the last time was in 2015, but managed to get off the hook due to technicality like having his name misspelled or due to lack of witnesses. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

Northern Samar to hold anti-drug summit

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TACLOBAN CITY- The provincial government of Northern Samar will conduct an anti-illegal drug summit on August 25 which aims to further strengthen the campaign against the proliferation of illegal drugs in the province. The one-day anti-drug summit, to be held at the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP), will be attended by various sectors and agencies across the province, Rei Josiah Echano, provincial information officer, said. Echano added that the purpose of the activity is to strengthen their campaign against illegal drugs through unification and workshop on sectoral resolutions. The expected 400 participants of the summit will come from the academe, church, local government units, on-government organizations and various government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Interior and Local Government as well as students. Those who voluntarily surrendered under the government’s “Oplan Tokhang” from the province were also invited to join the anti-drug illegal summit, Echano said. The summit, to be presided by Governor Jose Ong, will discuss on measures on what to do for those who voluntarily surrendered. The conduct of the anti-illegal drug summit in the province was first discussed during the July 22 Provincial Development Council meeting.
(RYAN GABRIEL LLOSA ARCENAS)

HARVEST TIME

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abaca
HARVEST TIME. Farmers in the region like Elsa Florendo of Barangay Parag-um, Carigara in Leyte will be busy in the next few days in harvesting their palay as typhoons and heavy rains are projected to hit Eastern Visayas. (MEL CASPE)

MAD RUSH

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MAD RUSH. Thousands of would-be voters for the barangay and youth elections formed a long line before the city office of the Commission on Elections to beat the July 30 listing up registration. The country is to conduct barangay and SK elections this October. (MEL CASPE)
MAD RUSH. Thousands of would-be voters for the barangay and youth elections formed a long line before the city office of the Commission on Elections to beat the July 30 listing up registration. The country is to conduct barangay and SK elections this October. (MEL CASPE)
MAD RUSH. Thousands of would-be voters for the barangay and youth elections formed a long line before the city office of the Commission on Elections to beat the July 30 listing up registration. The country is to conduct barangay and SK elections this October. (MEL CASPE)

Alfred: False accusation; all funds are accounted

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Former Mayor of Tacloban, Alfred S. Romuladez
Former Mayor of Tacloban, Alfred S. Romuladez
Former Mayor of Tacloban, Alfred S. Romuladez

TACLOBAN CITY- Former city mayor Alfred Romualdez dismissed as “unfortunate” an online report blaming him for the alleged misspending of financial assistance intended for survivors of supertyphoon “Yolanda” that hit Tacloban in 2013. Romualdez, who just stepped down from office last June 30 after serving nine years as mayor, said that the releases of funds coming from various government agencies for Tacloban were always transparent. “We reiterate that the city government of Tacloban has always and still continue to observe the standards of transparency and accountability over its funds including the Yolanda rehabilitation funds,” Romualdez said in a press statement. “Ang malungkot pa po dito ay ang sinasabi pa ng Rappler ay kung hindi raw naming naiparating at naipararamdam ang ibinigay na pera para sa aming mga tao kasi winaldas daw ng city government,” the former mayor said. Romualdez was reacting to an earlier story that appeared at Rappler, an online news service, claiming that close to P1 billion intended for Yolanda survivors were “misspent” during the time of Romualdez.

The Rappler report used a finding of the Commission on Audit (COA) stating, among others, that the alleged irregularities involved P907.86 million intended for infrastructure, aquaculture and emergency shelter assistance. The Kanhuraw Media Bureau, the information center of the city government, described the story as “manufactured.” “The entire report is a manufactured piece of narrative by the very offices that should have given and handled those funds, namely, the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources which are actually being currently investigated and are now trying to put the blame on the Tacloban city government,” the one-page statement said.

Former mayor Romualdez insisted that the funds received by the city went to the intended beneficiaries, particularly on the shelter assistance. He stressed that it was the national government, through the DSWD that set the guidelines as who could receive the shelter assistance. “Ang masakit pa po dito, ang tagal na nga bago pa nagrelease ng pondo para sa mga beneficiaries na mga biktima ng Yolanda sa Tacloban na umabot ng mahigit sa isang taon pa, ay mas pinapahirapan pa at pinadaan sa butas ng karayom para lang makatanggap ng perang inilaan naman talaga para sa kanila,” Romualdez said. “Sa totoo lang, the guidelines were set by the national government and we merely implemented it and followed it as applicable under our circumstances. As a mayor and an elected local government executive, my primary duty is to my constituents, the very people who elected me as mayor,” he added. For the ESA, Tacloban, considered as the ground zero of Yolanda, received more than P728 million.
The city received more than P100 million under the Recovery Assistance for Yolanda and more than P35 million for the aquaculture project. (JOEY A. GABIETA)

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