BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Controversial police officer Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido has been ordered to go on a killing spree by President Rodrigo Duterte right after being a given a new assignment in Bacolod City.

The President said in his speech Thursday, October 17, during the Philippine Business Conference and Expo at the Manila Hotel, he assigned Espenido to Bacolod because the city was “badly hit now.”

He described Espenido as “yung tinatakutan nila na pulis.” (The cop they fear the most.)

“Sabi ko, ‘Go there and you are free to kill everybody.” T*** i**** ‘yan. Go, start killing them. Ako nang – dalawa na tayong pa-preso,’” Duterte referring to his instructions to Espenido.

(I said: Go there and you are free to kill everybody. *expletives*. Go, start killing them. I will join you – the two of us – if you are sent to prison.)

Espenido, newly-promoted on Wednesday, October 16, was assigned here as the deputy city director for operations.

Espenido arrived here Wednesday night, October 16, following his donning of ranks at the Police Regional Office in Western Visayas in Iloilo City.

Espenido made the headlines following the deaths of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was killed in the custodial facility during the service of a warrant, and Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog during a raid. Both were linked to the illegal drug trade.

But he assured the people here that his assignment would not be bloody and that he would be assigned to handle the planning and managerial tasks in the police headquarters.

“Siguro iyon yung expectations nila kasi nakita nila sa trabaho ko. Pero to give you an idea, hindi siguro na ganun,” Espenido said.

(Probably, those are the expectations because they’ve seen how I work. But to give you an idea, it won’t be like that.) 

He stressed he was 100% pro-life, “but I want to urge those who are engaging in illegal drugs to surrender and not let anything happen to them, like being killed, because life is precious, it came from God, and we should protect it.”

Meanwhile, Colonel Henry Biñas, director of Bacolod City Police Office, said he was planning to assign Espenido in the drug enforcement unit. – Rappler.com