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Tearful Espinosa tells son: Surrender, Duterte will help us


 

A tearful Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. on Wednesday appealed to his son, Kerwin, to surrender to authorities who want him arrested for alleged links to the illegal drug trade.

"Anak, kung napapanood mo ako sa TV ngayon, sobra na ang pagtitiis ko. Surrender na lang tayo kasi tutulungan naman tayo ng ating Presidente at ng ating PNP chief (Director) General Ronald Dela Rosa. Makakaasa ka na kapag nag-surrender ka tutulungan ka nila," Espinosa said in Cebuano.

Kerwin remains in hiding while his father turned himself in on Tuesday for fear of his life after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered policemen to shoot them if they resisted arrest or failed to surrender within 24 hours from Monday.

The younger Espinosa left for Malaysia on June 21, nine days before Duterte assumed office on June 30, a source in the Bureau of Immigration said.

Espinosa went to the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Camp Crame to execute a judicial affidavit stating his knowledge about the illegal drug operations in his town, GMA News' Mariz Umali said in a report on "24 Oras."

In his affidavit, the mayor reiterated that his son is involved in drug trafficking but denied direct participation in it.

He also rejected insinuations that he was a drug dealer and a protector of drug lords.

"We are denying. Never has Mayor Espinosa engaged himself in drugs. He's not a drug protector. He's not a drug lord or anything. There is no evidence whatsoever. There is no case whatsoever linking him to drugs. If indeed, nadamay lang siya sa mga nangyari, yung mga ginawa ng anak niya," said Espinosa's legal counsel Romeo Esmero in an interview.

Espinosa also did not condone his son's illegal business even if the mayor failed to lift a finger against it, according to Esmero. 

"Hindi naman pinoprotektahan (si Kerwin). Hindi lang siya kumikibo," the lawyer said.

The mayor expressed willingness to undergo a drug test on the condition that he gets a medical authorization from his doctor, the report said.

This is to prevent a false-positive drug test result as Espinosa is taking several medicines for various ailments. —Virgil Lopez/JST, GMA News

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