Herbie Gomez
FOR someone who has repeatedly been professing to really, really hate illegal drugs so much, I find President Duterte’s announcement that he won’t allow the officers linked to the murder of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. to go to jail, to be a contradiction and, frankly, quite disturbing.
Espinosa, who was already in a prison facility because of his alleged illegal drug trade links, was shot to death by officers from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). The police officers claimed Espinosa was armed and fought back when they were serving a search warrant inside prison in the wee hours of Nov. 5.
Needless to say, the circumstances were suspect. By all indications, it was a rubout. The motive for the killing is anyone’s guess, but Duterte gave a hint when he answered the question of a CNN Philippines reporter who asked if he ordered National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa to reinstate Supt. Marvin Marcos as head of the CIDG in Region 8. Duterte said, “Ganito ’yan, si Bong (Presidential Management Staff head Christopher Lawrence Go) inorderan ko, call. By the time pinasa niya, ang sumagot si dela Rosa. Sabi ko, do not remove the guy because kasali yan sa... I am doing an investigative job...
“... Marcos, positive. Kasi I was keeping track of his movements. Alisin mo ako doon, mawala bigla ang... Mawala lahat. Hindi ko masundan.”
It’s as clear as crystal that the President suspected that Marcos is a rogue cop. Note, too, that Duterte said this after Espinosa’s son Kerwin, a self-confessed illegal drugs trader, told a Senate committee that Marcos was on the take, and that the CIDG official even demanded from him P3 million on one occasion, accusations that the police superintendent, expectedly, strongly denied.
So, if Duterte suspected that Marcos was involved in the illegal activities, and if he was truly keeping track of the CIDG regional head’s movements just as he claimed, why is the elder Espinosa dead?
Duterte was at it again last week, and what he said was truly disturbing. “Kasi ako, naniwala ako sa pulis kasi kaming mga mayor, congressman, sino ba ang paniwalaan nila? Ang pulis o ang criminal o yung mga suspetsa suspetsa?” He said that right after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced its findings that the killing of Mayor Espinosa was a clear case of murder--it was a rubout.
That’s not all. The President also said this: “I will not allow these guys to go to prison. Maski na sabihin ng NBI murder. Eh tutal ano naman ang NBI, under ko rin yan, eh, Department of Justice.”
In other words, Duterte will never allow a group of officers to serve time regardless of their motivation for killing a crime suspect, and his suspicion that their superior--in this case, Supt. Marcos--has underworld connections.
Here’s another way to look at it: Supt. Marcos is either lucky or he’s dead meat wrapped in duct tape. Either way, he won’t end up in prison.
That’s just great! Pastilan.
