Marcos, CIDG team still under suspension

MANILA, Philippines - The relieved chief of the Region 8 Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Supt. Marvin Marcos, and the rest of his men are still under suspension, the Inspector General of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.

PNP-IG Deputy Inspector General Chief Supt. Leo Angelo Leuterio said they have not received any orders to reinstate Marcos and his men to their former posts and therefore the orders for their relief is still in effect.

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa earlier said he was requested by “someone on top” to reinstate Marcos and his men to their former positions at the CIDG Eastern Visayas.

“I don’t know the engagement of the Chief PNP to whoever he was talking with. But the Chief PNP’s instructions is to conduct an impartial, objective and very fair investigation,” Leuterio said in an interview with dzMM.

“There’s no new instruction from the Chief PNP,” he said.

Leuterio added the restrictive custody on Marcos and his men has been lifted to allow them to secure documents and possible witnesses in the administrative cases they are facing.

Marcos and his men were involved in the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Ronaldo Espinosa Sr. at the Baybay City jail on Nov. 5.

Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, were killed in a supposed shootout with the CIDG operatives serving a search warrant in their cells.

Espinosa’s son, Kerwin, testified before the Senate inquiry that Marcos was among the police officials protecting his illegal drug operations in the region.

Disappointing

President Duterte on Friday admitted ordering Dela Rosa to reinstate Marcos to his old post.

Duterte explained he wanted Marcos in the CIDG Region 8 so he could observe if he really was involved in illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa had said a ranking official, who was later described as his “kumpare,” called and stopped him from relieving Marcos.

Duterte said he had asked his closest aide and trusted confidant Christopher “Bong” Go to call Dela Rosa.

Duterte told reporters in Davao City late Friday that he himself gave the order in the attempt to keep track of Marcos’ illegal activities.

Senior police officials were caught off guard by Duterte’s admission.

“Well, if that is the case, it’s the commander-in-chief giving the order. So that’s it. It comes from the highest chief so we have to follow,” PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said.

“The group of Supt. Marcos is undergoing investigation at the PNP Internal Affairs Service. And as per information I got from the PNP deputy IG (Leuterio) their restrictive custody was just temporarily lifted to allow them to return to Leyte to gather documents that they will use to answer the administrative case of summary dismissal proceedings being conducted against them. So that’s their present status for now,” Carlos said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson has raised doubts about the sincerity of the administration in its war against illegal drugs following the admission of Duterte.

Lacson, who spearheaded the conduct of an inquiry into the death of Espinosa, said Dela Rosa could have “explained to the President that reinstating Marcos and his group could be counterproductive.”

“In spite of that, if the President insisted, then he had no choice but to obey. After all, the order was not illegal per se,” he said.

In his official Twitter account, Lacson made it even clearer how he felt about the issue.

“Kumpare, kumare, kamaganak, kaibigan, etc. asking favors from CPNP – So what? It still boils down to command responsibility pag pumalpak (if something goes wrong),” Lacson said.

“Marcos now free from restrictive custody and allowed to go back to Tacloban. And I thought Ronald was strong willed and uncompromising,” he added, referring to Dela Rosa.

According to Lacson, this issue has led him to believe that “under this administration, whatever we think, maybe it’s possible.”

“Also, it says a lot about the government’s all out war against illegal drugs. It can’t succeed if they’re engaging in double standard and double speak. If it’s all out, it must be no nonsense and without discrimination. When there”s favoritism and inconsistency, any effort is bound to fail,” he added.

Again, in his Twitter account, Lacson had some choice words to say about the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs.

“I thought it was an all out drug war I was supporting. Talk about double standard. Talk about double-speak. Change isn’t coming after all,” he said.

Sen. Leila de Lima aired her suspicion that the President just owned up to the reinstatement of Marcos to save Go from taking the fall in this incident.

De Lima said she does not buy the explanation given by Duterte about why he ordered the reinstatement of Marcos, supposedly to further entrap Marcos or his partners in the illegal drug trade.

“We have had enough of these runaround explanations from Malacañang, and I’m sure there’s a deeper and, possibly, a more sinister reason for the President’s action. Otherwise, why would Gen. Bato (Dela Rosa) go through this charade of pointing to a kumpadre instead of just admitting from the start that the President himself ordered the reinstatement?” De Lima said.

De Lima said that the incident should prompt an inquiry by the Senate.