By Azer Parrocha/PNA
MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s move to fire Senior Supt. Francis Ebreo, Bacolod City police chief, over his alleged drug involvement is based on the chief executive’s “tentacles of intelligence”, Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde bared that Ebreo was not on the PNP’s drugs watchlist and neither that of the President’s.
“Siguro iba ang source of information ni Presidente. Eh Presidente ito ang dami nitong tentacles of intelligence (Perhaps the President has a different source of information. The President has a lot of tentacles of intelligence),” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
Panelo acknowledged that while the PNP has yet to determine drug personalities supposedly being protected by Ebreo, the President’s personal evidence was enough basis to fire the Bacolod police chief.
“Sa ngayon hindi pa natin alam exactly kung anong extent ng participation niya (At present, we don’t know exactly the extent of his participation in the drug trade). But the President has relieved him precisely because siguro may nakita na ebidensiya na kasama siya or sangkot siya (he has seen evidence proving he is included or a part of it),” Panelo said.
Panelo said that Palace will await results of the investigation being conducted by the PNP.
“What I know is that he is involved in the illegal drug trade whether as a protector or participant. Siguro (Perhaps) we will wait for the PNP exactly anong (which) charges will be filed against him, administratively or criminally,” he added.
Earlier, Albayalde assured there would be due process in the cases of Ebreo and four other cops relieved by the President for their alleged link to illegal drugs.
Aside from Ebreo, the four others fired by the President are Supt. Allan Macapagal, deputy city director for operation; Supt. Ritchie Yatar, chief of City Mobile Force Company; Supt. Nassrudin Tayuan, former team leader of the City Drug Enforcement Unit; and Senior Insp. Victor Paulino, former chief of Police Station 3, who was reassigned to the City Mobile Force Company last month.
Duterte announced that he has fired Ebreo and four other cops in a speech at the L’Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City on January 12.
“In your involvement in drugs and making the people of Bacolod miserable, I am relieving and dismissing you from the service as of now, Senior Supt. Francis Ebreo,” Duterte said. (With reports from Irish Caña, OJT/PNA)
