Peña urges Leonardia, Familiaran to press charges

By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Moises Padilla Mayor Magdaleno Peña lauded President Rodrigo Duterte for removing Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) director, Police Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, who is accused of having links to illegal drugs in the city.

In a statement, Peña expressed his appreciation for the president after the BCPO chief was issued a relief order.

The Moises Padilla mayor, who also serves as an adviser for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), said he already told Ebreo to stop pursuing his assets in the city and to concentrate on pursuing suspected illegal gambling operator Edgar ‘Tolikoy’ Mellama, whom he also accused of involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Peña also urged Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran to gather evidence and file charges against Ebreo, particularly since Leonardia earlier revealed he had been seeking Ebreo’s removal since last year.

Last Monday, Leonardia said he and Bacolod City lone district Rep. Greg Gasataya were “no longer comfortable” with the former BCPO chief after learning Bacolod City Councilor Ricardo Tan and Abang Lingkod partylist Rep. Stephen Paduano had been paying visits to Ebreo.

“We were becoming puzzled as to why [Ebreo] would not report it to us,” Leonardia explained. “We have been repeatedly asking for [his relief order] since early May of last year.”

Ebreo has since been replaced by Police Senior Superintendent Henry Biñas, who is currently serving BCPO as officer-in-charge.

Ebreo, meanwhile, rebuffed Peña’s allegations, stating, he doesn’t even know the identities of his assets and there was no coordination given to them./DGB, WDJ