Suspected drug lord Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY — A ranking police official in Central Visayas has denied introducing a retired general to Eastern Visayas’ suspected top drug trafficker Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr.
Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, deputy director for operations of the Police Regional Office (PRO-7), denied a television report that linked him to Kerwin.
“Let me say this: Wala ko kaila anang Espinosa or any of the Espinosas. Since birth, taga Cebu man gyud ko. Wala gyud ko nakahibalag ana niya. (I do not personally know Espinosa nor any of the Espinosas. I am a pure Cebuano, and since birth, I have never met Kerwin),” he said in an interview.
Lawas’ name was reportedly mentioned by slain Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. in an affidavit that linked a number of politicians, policemen, and journalists to Kerwin’s illegal drugs trade.
Mayor Espinosa did not directly drag Lawas to Kerwin’s drug operations.
In a television news, which Lawas saw, he was accused of introducing retired police general and now Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot to Kerwin.
Former police general and now Daanbantayan Mayor Vicente Loot of Cebu. (FILE PHOTO, CEBU DAILY NEWS)
Loot was among the personalities accused by the Albuera police of coddling Kerwin and his illegal operations.
Although he was not impleaded in the case, Lawas said he would be willing to undergo an investigation to prove his innocence.
“My conscience is clean. I am willing to face any investigation,” said Lawas, deputy director for operations of the regional police.
Lawas believed some police officers, who were earlier relieved from their posts, wanted to get back at him.
“Sad to say, there are really people who just wanted to drag others into where they are now. You go where you want to go. Don’t bring us with you,” he said without mentioning names.
Lawas is currently the head of the Oversight Committee on Illegal Drugs, which assesses the performances of the police in the region.
Those who failed to perform well were relieved from their posts and given another assignment.
“I hope whoever these people who are fabricating stories about me will just tell the truth. Please stop destroying the reputation of others. Let us be truthful and honest. God is watching us, and God knows what kind of person I am,” he said. SFM/rga