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Jovie Espenido

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Jovie Espenido
PLTCOL Jovie Espenido in 2020
Personal details
Born
Jovie R. Espenido

(1968-10-19) October 19, 1968 (age 56)
San Miguel, Surigao del Sur, Philippines[1]
SpouseShiela Bandal
Children3 daughters
OccupationPoliceman
NicknameDuterte's Drug War Poster Boy[1][2][3][4]
Police career
ServicePhilippine National Police
Police offices
    • Police Regional Office 7
    • Police Regional Office 10
    • Police Regional Office 8
    • Misamis Occidental Police Provincial Office
    • Bacolod City Police Office
    • Leyte Police Provincial Office
    • Samar Police Provincial Office
    • Negros Oriental Provincial Mobile Force Company
Service years1996-2024
Rank Police Lieutenant Colonel

Police Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido[5][6] is a controversial[7][8][9][10][11] retired Filipino police officer known as a crusader against illegal drugs.[12]

Early life

[edit]

Espenido was born on October 19, 1968, in San Miguel, Surigao del Sur, Philippines. He is the seventh of ten siblings. His parents, Josepina and Vicente, gave “Jovie” a name that fused their own.[1]

He is a licensed criminologist and has a Bachelor of Science in Criminology. He possesses skills in electronics and mechanics.[13]

Career

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On September 16, 1996, Espenido entered the Philippine National Police and the Regional Mobile Group (RMG) 7, particularly in Negros Oriental as his first assignment.[14]

In 2005, he was assigned to Ormoc's City Police Office. During his assignment, he caught the city's former mayor, Eric Codilla, patronizing illegal logging operations.[15] In 2008, the PNP promoted him to Inspector (Lieutenant).

In 2010, when he was the Chief of Police of Gandara Municipal Police Station, Espenido seized the former mayor and his political goons who illegally kept firearms in Gandara, Samar.[16][17][18] Various most wanted criminals in the town were also nabbed during his term.[19]

On July 13, 2016, a fortnight into Duterte's rule, the PNP assigned him to Albuera, a fishing town 30 minutes from Ormoc.

On October 16, 2019, Espenido was assigned as the Deputy City Director for Operations of the Bacolod Police Office in Western Visayas.[20]

In 2020, he was reassigned back to Eastern Visayas by PNP Chief Police General Archie Gamboa to hold the post of the Deputy Provincial Director for Operations of the Samar Police Provincial Office in Catbalogan.[21]

Awards and decorations

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Personal life

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Espenido is married to Shiela Bandal. They have three daughters.[22] He is a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and a vegetarian.[23]

Controversies and criticism

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Bloody raid of ‘Martilyo Gang’

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The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed homicide raps against Espenido for a ‘Martilyo Gang’ raid that killed six people in Ozamis City.[24][25]

Inclusion in Duterte’s drug watchlist

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On February 12, 2020, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año announced that Espenido was among the 357 policemen on President Rodrigo Duterte's drug watchlist, also known as narco list.[26][27][28][29]

Killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa

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On November 5, 2016, Rolando Espinosa, then mayor of Albuera, Leyte, was killed in a Baybay City Provincial Jail cell by policemen who claimed they were serving a search warrant.[30] A month later, Espenido was removed from his post after he was named by Espinosa's son, Kerwin, as the conduit to Ronnie Dayan, the alleged bagman of Sen. Leila de Lima, whom the Duterte administration had detained on drug trafficking charges.[31]

Assassination of Mayor Parojinog

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Espenido earned various criticism regarding the bloody operation against members of the influential family of Ozamis City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr. who was allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.[32][33]

Alleged illegal maneuvers to discredit the drug war

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In August 2024, Espenido testified before the House Committee that Senator Ronald dela Rosa directed the criminal cases dismissal against Kerwin Espinosa and Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog. He also accused Bong Go of sourcing intelligence funds from POGOs for Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.[34]

References

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  1. ^ a b c peterhoskin (2019-11-14). "Duterte's poster boy". members.tortoisemedia.com. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  2. ^ "BZZZZZ: They suspected Espenido but chose not to tarnish 'poster boy' image". SunStar. 14 February 2020.
  3. ^ "The Poster Boy is a Narco Cop".
  4. ^ "'Ngayon good boy ka, bukas bad boy ka': Bato vouches for Espenido". 18 February 2020.
  5. ^ Co, Adrian Stewart (February 18, 2020). "Controversial Police Lt. Col Espenido not yet off the book". www.panaynews.net. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  6. ^ Ellera, Teresa D. (2020-03-03). "Espenido in trouble". Sunstar. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  7. ^ "Controversial 'drug war' cop Espenido on Duterte's narcolist". ABS-CBN News. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  8. ^ "Controversial Espenido surfaces, thanks Duterte for standing by him". Manila Bulletin News. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  9. ^ Gonzales, Cathrine (2020-02-12). "Controversial cop Espenido distances self from alleged inclusion in drugs watchlist". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  10. ^ Gelera, Shiela (October 2019). "Controversial cop assigned to Bacolod". www.visayandailystar.com. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  11. ^ Diestro, Dynah; ABS-CBN (3 September 2018). "Controversial cop Espenido to run for mayor of Ozamiz City". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 2020-07-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Expedite investigation on Jovie Espenido". INQUIRER.net. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  13. ^ "Is Chief Inspector Espenido pro-life?". INQUIRER.net. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  14. ^ Talabong, Rambo (2 September 2017). "Jovie Espenido sans the uniform". Rappler. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  15. ^ Talabong, Rambo (9 August 2017). "Jovie Espenido's secret to fighting crime? His faith". Rappler. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  16. ^ "PIA daily news in English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Waray, Pangalatok from around the Philippines". archives.pia.gov.ph. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  17. ^ Lastimosa, Leo. "Una niyang mayor". philstar.com. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  18. ^ "Gandara Mayor posts bail for gun ban violation". samarnews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  19. ^ "Police nabs Gandara, Samar's wanted person". samarnews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  20. ^ "Espenido gets new assignment in W. Visayas". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  21. ^ Tupas, Emmanuel. "Espenido reassigned to Eastern Visayas". philstar.com. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  22. ^ "Adventist Media Ministry Organization - Isabel, Isabel (2020)". www.findglocal.com. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  23. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Philippines police chief shows affinity for Rodrigo Duterte's drug war | DW | 18.09.2018". DW.COM. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  24. ^ Juan, Joel R. San (2018-09-21). "DOJ files homicide raps vs Espenido for 'Martilyo Gang' raid that killed 6 | Joel R. San Juan". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  25. ^ Interaksyon (2017-08-15). "Espenido sees Parojinogs' hand in murder raps filed vs him by Martilyo Gang suspect's kin". Interaksyon. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  26. ^ "Jovie Espenido is on Duterte's narco list, DILG confirms". cnn. Archived from the original on 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  27. ^ Talabong, Rambo (12 February 2020). "Drug war poster boy Jovie Espenido is on Duterte drug list". Rappler. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  28. ^ "DILG confirms drug war enforcer Espenido on Duterte narcolist". INQUIRER.net. 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  29. ^ "Espenido: I was ashamed and embarrassed to be included in the President's narco list". INQUIRER.net. 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  30. ^ "Espenido says politicians may have linked him to drugs". cnn. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  31. ^ "Espenido stays as Ozamis police chief". Manila Bulletin News. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  32. ^ Torres-Tupas, Tetch (2019-05-31). "Espenido on Parojinog guilty verdict: 'Grabe! Thank God'". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  33. ^ Mindanews (2017-07-31). "Police: We wanted to get the Parojinogs alive". MindaNews. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  34. ^ Ismael, Javier Joe (August 29, 2024). "Espenido tags Bato in drug war". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
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