Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
If Kerwin Espinosa will not surrender within the day, his father Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and his family will be booted out of the “White House,” Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” De la Rosa said on Friday.
De la Rosa gave an ultimatum to the younger Espinosa, touted as the biggest drug lord in Eastern Visayas, that his family will be kicked out of the White House, the official residence of the PNP chief inside Camp Crame in Quezon City, if he will not turn himself in to the police on Friday.
READ: Leyte mayor under custody of Dela Rosa; son still at large
“Hanggang ngayon gabi. Kung walang mangyari (I am giving him until tonight. If nothing happens) then tomorrow morning I will tell them to vacate and ship themselves out,” the police chief told reporters in an ambush interview.
For security reasons, the mayor, his partner and daughter have been staying at the White House since he submitted himself to De la Rosa on Tuesday before President Duterte’s 24-hour deadline for the father and his son to surrender.
READ: Leyte mayor’s son vanished after Duterte victory
De la Rosa said he asked the mayor for an update on his son’s surrender Friday morning. But he said his son has not called them yet.
The PNP chief revealed on Thursday that Kerwin had sent surrender feelers to his family through a phone call on Wednesday night.
READ: Bato: Espinosa son sent surrender feelers
Kerwin has been reportedly hiding in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since June.
Cigarette smoke odor
De la Rosa also said he cannot take anymore the cigarette odor in his house since Espinosa and his family, whom the police official described as chainsmokers, stayed there.
The Espinosas are occupying the room of De la Rosa’s son. He said: “Kawawa ‘yung kwarto na tinutulugan ng anak ko. Grabe manigarilyo sila ‘yung father, asawa at saka ‘yung anak parehong mga smoker. Ang baho na. Pagdating nu’ng anak ko galing Davao, kapag matulog sa kwarto na ‘yun, mag-reklamo ‘yung anak ko.”
(My son’s room is a mess. The father, his wife and their daughter are chainsmokers. The room has gotten smelly. When my son arrives from Davao, he will complain that his room has gotten that foul smell.)
Asked if he did not impose a no-smoking policy against them, De la Rosa said he could not watch over them all the time.
“Hindi ko man sila pwede samahan doon sa loob ng kwarto at doon ako makitulog. Bantayan ko sila kung manigarilyo sila pipigilan ko. Hindi naman pwede eh,” he explained.
(I cannot watch over them in their room and sleep there. If I catch them smoking, I will stop them. But I cannot do that all the time.)
The lives of the Espinosa family are in danger while they are in his house, De la Rosa quipped.
“I can kill them anytime if I want to,” he said.
In an earlier interview, De la Rosa said he does not want to spend for the Espinosa family’s hotel accommodation while staying in Metro Manila.
“I have to be human because his wife and daughter were there. I can’t keep him in jail because there’s no case against him,” he said. IDL/rga