Leyte town slowly erases stigma of illegal drugs

Albuera town in Leyte province hogged headlines not because of its natural beauty but because of its reputation as hub for illegal drugs in Eastern Visayas. Now, officials are trying to dust off that image by ensuring the town will be peaceful and drug-free. JOEY A. GABIETA

Slain Mayor Rolando Espinosa

ALBUERA, Leyte — It was only 6 p.m., but the streets were already empty. People stayed inside their houses, gripped by fear, while a lone motorcycle with two men on board purred, ready to prowl through the night.

It was that time when the town trembled. Kerwin Espinosa, the biggest drug lord in Eastern Visayas, was running a criminal empire that collapsed only shortly before his arrest in October last year.

Now, the people are back in the streets, even way past midnight, in reclaimed freedom. Some are eating at barbecue stalls in the public market, others simply savoring the sea breeze.

Local officials are gradually shaking off Albuera’s image as a hub of illegal drug trafficking.

“The image that was projected was that our peace and order was so bad, that ‘shabu’ was so rampant, and an alleged drug lord was from Albuera,” said Alan Samson, municipal planning and development officer.

Espinosas in power

One businessman even aborted a plan to invest due to that negativity, said municipal administrator Armando Meneses.

Albuera, a third-class municipality in Leyte province with a population of 43,000 and located south of the capital city of Tacloban, drew national attention in July last year when President Duterte identified its mayor, Rolando Espinosa Sr., as protector of the illegal drug trade ran by his son, Kerwin.

Mr. Duterte issued a shoot-to-kill order for both father and son, prompting the mayor to surrender to Philippine National Police chief, Director General Ronald dela Rosa in Quezon City.

The mayor was later detained to face drug charges at the subprovincial jail in the city of Baybay, also in Leyte.

Kerwin fled the country but he was arrested in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 17.

Less than a month later, Espinosa was killed in an alleged shootout with members of the regional Criminal Investigation and Detection Group inside his cell.

The police officers, led by Supt. Marvin Marcos, the regional police chief, are now in jail to face charges for killing Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap.

With the mayor’s death and his son’s arrest, the reign of the Espinosas in Albuera came to an end. Their armed goons had earlier been killed or had surrendered to testify against Kerwin and his cohorts.

Antidrug efforts

The new mayor, Rosa Meneses, and other officials are trying to peel off the town’s image as haven of drug traffickers. Antidrug councils in all its 16 barangays have been reactivated.

So far, the campaign has been paying off, said PO1 Harold Fernando, assistant investigator of the municipal police.

More than 450 drug personalities surrendered at the height of the intensive police drive dubbed “Operation Tokhang.”

“We have been conducting our own operations against illegal drugs proliferation here. So far, we have only arrested two individuals related to possession of illegal drugs,” Fernando said.

One of the detainees, Marcelo Adorco, is an associate of Kerwin. He gave up to authorities in July 2016 and agreed to become a witness against his former boss.

Kerwin Espinosa

From battling illegal drugs, the lawmen are now faced with petty crimes, such as neighborhood spat and small-time gambling, and with road accidents.

Albuera has 22 police officers, led by Senior Insp. John Rey Layog, who conduct mobile patrols regularly for increased police visibility.

Peace and order changes

As part of assuring police security to residents, the municipal government has placed priority on lighting barangay streets and public facilities.

“If our streets and market are well-lighted, our people would no longer be afraid to come out,” Meneses said. “We encourage our people to even play at night at our gymnasium as a way to show that we have a peaceful town now.”

Leonor Vega, guidance counselor of Doctor Guillermo Zaldivar Memorial School of Fisheries, said she was witnessing some changes in the town.
Her school is the biggest secondary public school in Albuera with a student population of over 1,300.

“The people here are no longer afraid to come out during the night and this is also good for our students because there are times that they go home quite late,” Vega said.

But Nilda Mahinay, who runs a stall at the public market selling dry goods, said she had yet to reap the benefits
of change.

“My daily sales are still down. While I open my stall as early as 6 a.m., I have to close before
8 p.m. due to lack of customers. I will be lucky if I could earn P1,000 a day,” said the 48-year-old mother of three children.

Mahinay remains hopeful, however, that with the improved peace and order situation, her sales would increase.

Investors are coming in, according to Samson, the municipal planning and development officer. One has opened a chicken specialty store.

Local officials are finalizing a revised land-use plan for comprehensive development, which will be used to identify potential investment areas.

For instance, in the village of Benolho, situated between the town and Ormoc City, Samson said a company was planning to put up a fuel depot at a proposed 50-hectare industrial site.

One of its big investors is Pulp Specialties Philippines Inc., which is processing abaca fiber into pulp for export.

About 300 businesses are operating in Albuera, mostly in the retail sector, generating around P30 million in local government income. The town also receives P100 million in internal revenue allotment.

“We cannot attract shopping malls and big department stores, considering our proximity to both Ormoc and Baybay cities. But we can position ourselves as a rest and recreation destination as we have several beach resorts that we can offer to tourists and companies where they can have their meetings,” Samson said.

Recently, the local government reopened Sibugay Mountain Resort in Barangay Poblacion, 3.4 kilometers away from the town center, which offers a zip line and a swimming pool of river water.