(Eagle News)–Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido can still clear his name, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said.
According to Año, Espenido can “present his side” in the “ongoing adjudication and validation.”
He said in a separate statement that the evidence should be presented before the PNP, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
All four agencies, he said, should give the clearance for the probe to be stopped.
Año made the statement after Espenido said his inclusion in the drug list was due to “failure of intelligence.”
President Rodrigo Duterte has praised Espenido for his contributions to the drug war.
Espenido led the raid on the properties of former Ozamiz Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog Sr., whom Duterte accused of being involved in the drug trade.
Parojinog and several others were killed.
