By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Police Chief Inspector Jovie Espenido said he has no problem if Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog will ignore him when he arrives in the city following a presidential directive assigning him to Iloilo.
In an interview with Bombo Radyo-Bacolod yesterday, Espenido said he would rather concentrate on his new duties than paying a courtesy call on the local chief executive, who has been tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte to have links with illegal drugs.
“Mabilog does not have to fear anything as long as he is just doing everything right,” Espenido said. “However, it is my obligation as a police officer to stop any illegal activity being done by an elected official.”
Espenido also assured the city residents not to be afraid, as long as they are not doing anything illegal.
He is hoping God will guide him in his role as the city’s newest top cop, he added.
Espenido previously served in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental in 1999 and he is the classmate of the late Senior Police Officer 1 (SPO1) Jesael Ancheta, one of the six cops slain in an ambush by the New People’s Army (NPA) in July of this year.
Espenido will reportedly assume the post as Iloilo City’s police director./WDJ