Bato melting in shame?

It’s impossible for Bato to melt away. But he should be very angry

P hilippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said he would have melted in shame upon learning kidnapped South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo was strangled to death by rogue cops inside Camp Crame.

“I’m very, very angry. I’m very, very offended. I would have melted away in humiliation right at this very moment because it happened within Camp Crame,” Dela Rosa said in Malacañang Thursday.

It’s impossible for Bato to melt away. But he should be very angry and do what he has to do to these hoodlums in uniform. •••

What exactly would Bato have wanted to do? “If I have my way, I would kill these policemen-cum-kidnappers. But I cannot do it because that’s illegal,” Bato said.

SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel, along with two other cops, all assigned at the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG), strangled Jee to death inside his SUV parked few meters away from Dela Rosa’s office on Oct. 18.

If these cops were able to strangle Jee, which was of course illegal, why couldn’t Bato strangle

these cops? •••

President Rody Duterte also became “very angry” when he mentioned Jee’s case in a meeting with governors on Thursday, Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda said.

“The policemen behind the kidnapping are not my people. I wonder why they are not afraid of me,” the President said.

That’s why there’s a need to cleanse the ranks of the police. Rogue cops, with impunity in mind, are now using the war against drugs, especially “tokhang,” as a means to commit kidnapping for ransom. •••

Some senators and netizens are calling on Bato to resign after anti-illegal drugs cops brutally killed South Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo under Bato’s nose.

But the PNP asked critics not to blame Bato for the mistakes of erring policemen. “Every day, crime is happening so every day we’ll have a new PNP chief,” PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said.

Well, if Bato resigns, the President has to appoint a new PNP chief.