Espenido: A dead man walking?

“No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.”

—Niccolo Machiavelli

By Alex P. Vidal

WE won’t be surprised if controversial Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido will soon be the next target of the extra-judicial killing (EJK), a bloody method of executing criminals and which has tainted the image of the Philippines.

Let’s hope he won’t suffer the fates of Police Majors Joe Pring and Timoteo Zarcal, who were both gunned down at the height of their popularity as “trigger-happy” Manila cops in the early 90’s.

There is more than meets the eye in the recent move of the Philippine National Police (PNP) hierarchy to relieve the rock star of his post as deputy chief of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) after serving only for more or less four months.

Either there was truth to the report that Espenido was included in President Duterte’s list of police officials linked to illegal drugs, or he had to be axed for being someone “who knows too much.”

Four years since the Duterte administration uncorked the deadly war against illegal drugs, no one really knows the real score.

Nobody can tell how many street-level drug pushers have been neutralized and how many big time drug traffickers have been arrested.

Are they really being seriously pursued? 

Or everything in as far as the campaign against illegal drugs is just a charade?

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What most people know is that we are losing the battle against illegal drugs.

That there is a disturbing trend of some prominent characters all over the country being abducted surreptitiously not for ransom but to be “silenced” (sometimes their bodies or skeletons were recovered in a drum underneath the river or in the deep water; and in most cases their whereabouts have remained unknown).  

More small fries and even bystanders are maimed and killed via EJK than the real traffickers of illegal substance. 

More arrests have been made against small time drug pushers than the drug lords, who still control the multi-billion business; and who still apparently enjoy the protection of those whose who are supposed to arrest and lock them in jail.

In his brief stint in Bacolod, Espenido must have become too big for his britches because of the gargantuan media attention he has been raking in.

Sent to Bacolod to do a man’s job, he failed to nail down a single drug lord and submitted an egg.

There were allegations that some big names in the higher echelon and the powers that be were not only involved in the protection racket of the syndicates but are members of the syndicates themselves.

If the syndicates have successfully hammered out their arm-twisting and influence-peddling tactics to sully Espenido’s reputation in Malacanang, he is finished.  

From hero to villain.

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REENERGIZE WITH EXERCISE EARLY EVENING. Even though we're tired, forcing ourselves to do aerobic exercise will energize us for a couple of hours and make it easier to fall asleep at night. 

Our body temperature naturally falls at night, shortly before bedtime, so the natural dip in temperature that happens about 2 hours after a workout can help us get to bed at a decent hour and wake up refreshed the next morning.

AVOID CHEMICALS IN OUR CANS. Canned food alert: Consumer Reports found bisphenol A-a chemical linked to reproductive problems, diabetes, and heart disease--in all 19 brandname canned foods it tested, including those labeled BPA free. 

Because levels vary so widely, even among cans of the same product, there's no way to predict how much we're getting.

LET'S TIME OUR NAP AFTER LUNCH. Research shows that naps, especially "power naps" of 20 to 30 minutes, help ward off fatigue. To maximize the benefits, let's try taking a siesta after lunch, when our energy levels are particularly low. 

Let us limit rest to less  than 30 minutes, or stretch it out to 60 to 90 minutes to avoid grogginess that results from waking up in the middle of deep sleep. (Source: Prevention)

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Don't touch the Ilonggos with a ten-foot pole

"In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so."
--Immanuel Kant

By Alex P. Vidal

ILONGGOS have the right to protect themselves from law enforcers who apparently aren't afraid to kill in the name of an "all-out campaign against illegal drugs".
The Bill of Rights is the Bill of Life.
In case Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) deputy chief Jovie Espenido will literally implement the illegal and immoral order from the President to "kill anybody", we must remind the Philippine National Police (PNP) the following:
-No suspected criminal should die from lawmen;
-A person accused of having committed a certain crime must be given his day in court;
-Life should be preserved.
-The State should ensure that he will undergo a fair trial, a litigation that will not last in eternity; a justice delayed is a justice denied.
Extra-Judicial Killings (EJK), therefore, have no place in a civilized society.
In the Philippine Constitution, the Bill of Rights under Article III establishes our relationship to the State and defines our rights by limiting the lawful powers of the State.
This is one of our most important political achievements.
The concept of the Bill of Rights is essentially an occidental product; there has grown the conviction that our rights must be preserved and safeguarded, not through the authority of an individual, not through membership in a particular group or party, not through reliance upon force of arms, but rather through the accepted process of declared constitutional law.

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Partners in crimes nabbed separately are mostly forced to rat against each other. This is a fundamental police technique in custodial investigation.
Self-interest can be consistent with acting cooperatively.
This can be proven in David Gauthier's version of the Prisoner's Dilemma.
According to the story of the Prisoner's Dilemma, two people have been brought in for questioning, conducted separately, about a crime they are suspected to have committed.
The police have solid evidence of a lesser crime that they committed, but need confessions in order to convict them on more serious charges.
Each prisoner is told that if she cooperates with the police by informing on the other prisoner, then she will be rewarded by receiving a relatively light sentence of one year in prison, whereas her cohort will go to prison for ten years.
If they both remain silent, then there will be no such rewards, and they can each expect to receive moderate sentences of two years.

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And if they both cooperate with police by informing on each other, then the police will have enough to send each to prison for five years.
The dilemma then is this: in order to serve her own interests as well as possible, each prisoner reasons that no matter what the other does she is better off cooperating with the police by confessing.
Each reasons: "If she confesses, then I should confess, thereby being sentenced to five years instead of ten. And if she does not confess, then I should confess, thereby being sentenced to one year instead of two. So, no matter what she does, I should confess." The problem is that when each reason this way, they each confess, and each goes to prison for five years.
However, had they each remained silent, thereby cooperating with each other rather than with the police, they would have spent only two years in prison.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Rodrigo Duterte no respect for Ilonggos in Bacolod

"There is no life to be found in violence. Every act of violence brings us closer to death. Whether it's the mundane violence we do to our bodies by overeating toxic food or drink or the extreme violence of child abuse, domestic warfare, life-threatening poverty, addiction, or state terrorism."
--Bell Hooks

By Alex P. Vidal

RODRIGO Roa Duterte may have abused his presidency for ordering his police "berdugo", Jovie Espenido, to "kill everybody" in Bacolod City.
If you are a parent, a wife, a husband, a priest, a journalist, a tambay, a teacher, an activist, a vendor and you live in Bacolod City, you will surely shake in your shirts.
Any civilian can be killed either on suspicion of involvement in illegal drugs, or as a "collateral damage" when the Duterte-inspired lawmen hunt down their "persons of interest."
Any Juan, Pedro, Toto and Inday can be murdered because they are "nanlaban" or "nag bato" (resisted and fought the police) when "arrested".
We all know what happened to the more than 5,000 alleged victims of the extra-judicial killings (EJK) ever since the Duterte administration waged a bloody rampage versus illegal drugs.

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With his statement, a pre-Halloween dagger, Duterte probably thinks people in the "City of Smile" are worse than animals.
He is promoting and sponsoring violence by egging an excited and over-rated chief law enforcer to disregard the due process, the basic essence of democracy, and blatantly commit a human rights violation.
The president has no regard for the human life.
He has no respect for the Ilonggos in Bacolod City who had accorded him a warm welcome on several occasions.
Duterte's sweeping and irresponsible order on Espenido may be misinterpreted by trigger-happy maniacs who wear police uniforms.
He thinks the only solution to the problem on illegal drugs is to kill both the pusher and the user, to brutally wage terror in a civilian community.
Duterte has assigned Espenido, a police lieutenant colonel, to the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) as deputy with a main purpose of running after illegal drug traffickers in the city which he described as "badly hit" by illegal drugs.
"Bacolod City is badly hit now and I placed Espenido there because he is the only police official feared the most," Duterte said recently.
"And I told him to go there and you are free to kill everybody. 'Go, start killing them."

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We are puzzled why until now no public official or organization in Bacolod City has criticized Mr. Duterte's dangerous statement.
No one from the City Council has stood up in the rostrum to at least remind the president that Bacolod is a peaceful city and any violent enforcement of the law will not be tolerated by peace-loving Bacolodnons.
If Mayor Bing Leonardia can't criticize his friend, President Duterte, for his unpalatable remarks, the opposition or anyone in the local government who believes in decency and the rule of law should initiate a discourse or debate that the President should rectify his mistake soon and tell the public he had no intention of sowing terror in Bacolod City.
Bacolodnons should unite and chide the President, and demand from him to remind Espenido or any police personnel for that matter to respect the rule of law and value the fundamental human rights of any civilian.
There should be no more bloodbaths. No more hubris when implementing the law. No ifs. No buts.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Espenido is not Hercules

"I do know one thing about me: I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth."
--Sonia Sotomayor

By Alex P. Vidal

THOSE who expect newly designated Baclod City Police Office (BCPO) deputy city director for operations, Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido to single-handedly erase all the drug traffickers in Bacolod City from the face of earth must either be high on drugs or just simply foolish and naive.
Espenido is not Hercules.
He is not even a Dirty Harry-type of law enforcer like what we all saw in the Clint Eastwood-starred Hollywood films in the 70's and 80's.
Espenido is a media creation.
His sensational stints as top cop in Leyte and Ozamis City where he led bloody crackdowns against prominent members of clans engaged in illegal drug made newspaper headlines yes, but they were all done with direct supervision and order from the higher ups that adhered to the iron-fist policy of the Duterte administration against illegal drugs.

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Espenido did not become instant star by killing the bad guys on the spot in a chance encounter or random act of crime like Charles Bronson in The Death Wish.
Any wily and determined cop "assigned" to perform President Duterte's wishes will also hog newspaper headlines like Espenido for a "job well done."
Espenido was "placed there" for a special task; he was not an accidental hero, or an off-duty cop who bravely chased five hooligans in broad daylight and walked away over their dead bodies with a smoking gun like Wyatt Earp.
It's funny that fans of Extra-Judicial Killings (EJK) treated Espenido like he won the gold medal in the world gymnastics championship when he was recently officially introduced as the new BCPO deputy.
He was presented in the media like a folk hero who just crossed the River Styx after rescuing the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys.

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It's funnier when Espenido invoked the name of God when asked by reporters if his campaign against illegal drugs in the City of Smile would be bloody.
He reportedly declared: “If it’s God’s will, hindi man tayo makasiguro nyan kasi ang sa atin trabaho lang. ‘Yung sa atin lang is the rule of law. ‘Yun man ang pinangarap ng Presidente natin na mandate ng batas sa PNP."
It's not God's will to kill crime suspects, much less those who have not been properly arrested and convicted in court.
It's not God's will to execute unarmed civilians on suspicion they have links to illegal drugs.
God's law is just. Man's law is banal and imprecise.
In parading Espenido and disclosing the nature of his assignment in the BCPO, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has telegraphed its punches.
Drug lords and other outlaws in Bacold City and other cities and provinces can now prepare how to handle the PNP's latest move.

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Aside from donating sports equipment to the Iloilo City Government, we request the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to allow finance the training of Ilonggo athletes with potentials to win gold medals in international competitions.
Carlos Edriel Yulo, 19, the first-ever Filipino to win a gold medal at the world championships in Stuttgart on October 12, came from the grassroots.
Aside from the world-class facilities where Yulo and his fellow gymnasts trained, they were given the opportunities to hone their skills abroad from financial assistance given by the PSC, among other sources of training funds.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

'Rock star' treatment could endanger cop's life

"I try not to be influenced by success or popularity."
--Suga

By Alex P. Vidal

POLICE Major Jovie Espenido is just an ordinary police officer, but fans of extra-judicial killings (EJK) made him a bigger-than-life hero.
Every time Espenido's name and his next assignment are mentioned in the press, EJK fans, including the media, burst in excitement as if they are about to see the Halley's Comet.
Espenido himself could be surprised that he has been accorded the "rock star" treatment by those who advocate for immediate annihilation of drug dealers, so that the government will no longer waste the taxpayers' money for the litigation of these criminals.
He earned the "berdugo" (executioner) reputation after being assigned in Ozamis City where he led the raid on the resident of the dangerous Parojinog family in 2017 that resulted in many deaths and arrest of suspected drug traffickers who were previously untouchables.

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In the Philippines, those who talk tough and act with iron fists--even if some of them are dimwits--are admired and hailed as heroes.
Then they are elected in the senate.
Espenido also became a media sensation when President Duterte wanted to assign him in Iloilo City two years ago in a bid to scare former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who was believed to have flown to Canada earlier.
Duterte fanatics, especially Mabilog's enemies, welcomed the news of Espenido's scheduled transfer in Iloilo City; some even flooded the social media with veiled threats and mockery aimed directly at the crestfallen former city mayor.
Espenido's transfer was called off after the intelligence reportedly intercepted reports that Espenido's life was in danger; some members of drug syndicates and Ilonggo sympathizers of Mabilog and other personalities offended by the current administration were reportedly waiting to "waylay" the popular police officer whatever that means.
Which reminds us of Joe Pring and Timoteo Zarcal, two charismatic and sensational Manila cops killed by suspected leftist rebels one after another in 1994.
They were at the height of their popularity and, like Espenido today, they also were accorded the "rock star" treatment by their fans.

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IT isn't mandatory for people outside Metro Manila to have a knee-jerk reaction each time there are controversies and scandals involving misbehaving politicians and policemen in the Imperial Manila.
It is not also necessary that those living outside Metro Manila will "adopt" the fears and panic felt by the victims of these Metro Manila-based politicians and rogue cops.
Like when the Senate tackled the "ninja cops" controversy involving some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Metro Manila.
Since the senate hearings were aired "live" on the Internet and broadcast media, they had chilling effects on people, who have fears for these types of law enforcers, all over the archipelago.
Many of these people, the so-called "promdi", think the threats and activities of the "ninja cops" have stretched and are also happening in their regions.
Thus the good cops, who have nothing to do whatsoever with the bad behaviors of their counterparts in the Imperial Manila, are also being sideswiped by the negative publicity.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)