PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the arrest of a town mayor in Leyte and his son for trafficking in illegal drugs or face being shot on sight, Malacañang said Monday.
Duterte demanded the arrest of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his son Kerwin Espinosa within 24 hours “on the grounds of drug-trafficking and coddling,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement.
“Otherwise an order of shoot on sight will be given if they resist and endanger the lives of arresting police officers.”
On Thursday last week, two bodyguards and three employees of Espinosa were arrested during a buy-bust operation in which P1.9 million worth of shabu were recovered.
Four other suspects managed to escape after they ran inside the house of Espinosa’s son Kerwin and locked the gate, police said.
Kerwin’s house is located inside a compound where his father also lives.
Albuera Police Chief Jove Espinido said they had no authority to barge into the compound after the gate was locked.
The buy-bust operation was conducted around 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at the tennis court near the houses of the mayor and his son in Sitio Tinago Benolho village.
Mayor Espinosa has been on leave since last week.
Those arrested during the buy-bust operation bodyguards Jessie Ocares, 34, and Marcelo Adorco, 40, and employees Jose Antipuesto, Jeffrey Pesquera and Ernesto Dumalat.
Antipuesto, 36, who took care of the mayor’s fighting cocks, had been the target of the buy-bust operation after the police received reports that he was selling shabu, Espinido said.
He said a poseur bought P300 worth of shabu from Antipuesto, and though Ocares and Adorco were armed they did not put up a fight.
Seized from Ocares were a .45-cal. pistol and a pack of shabu weighing 84 grams. A .45 cal. pistol and a packet of shabu weighing 121 grams were recovered from Adorco.
At least 14.8 grams of shabu were recovered from Antipuesto.
Pesquera, 39, a native of Cebu City, also worked for the mayor as caretaker of his fighting cocks. Shabu was also found in his possession.
Dumalat, 20, and another employee of the mayor was caught with two small packs of shabu weighing 3.7 grams.
The suspects denied owning the shabu recovered from them.