‘We’re not butchers’

MANILA -- Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald Dela Rosa has expressed frustration that despite their efforts against illegal drugs, part of the public still portrays them as the “bad ones.”

“Kami po ay tao lang. Nakaka-feel kami ng frustration. Gustong gusto po talaga naming gampanan ang papel dito sa mundo bilang pulis…Kami binuwis buhay namin, ‘yung mga pulis ko nagkakakaso. Mga tao rin kami, hindi kami perpekto, kaya sana naman po ‘yung treatment sa amin ibabalance lang din po,” he said.

The PNP chief said he feels sad whenever their “success” against illegal drugs is being downplayed by several groups.

“Ako ramdam na ramdam ko ang tuwa ng taumbayan sa ginagawa namin pero bakit may ibang sector na pinapalabas na kami masama? ‘Yan po sama ng loob namin... Hindi po kami butcher na pumapatay ng tao na walang karason rason.” Dela Rosa said.

“We’re not butchers who arbitrarily kill people,“he added.

EMBARRASSED

However, Dela Rosa assured that they are not tolerating erring policemen particularly those involved in the illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa said Tuesday that he was humiliated on last Monday’s Senate hearing when a witness positively identified three Antipolo policemen allegedly involved in illegal activities along with her parents, who were both killed.

“Honestly, sa akin po, napahiya ako kahapon. Right after the hearing, ako mismo nagpunta sa Rizal Provincial Police Office, pinatanggal ko sila doon at pina-assign ko sa Crame so they are ready to face the Internal Affairs Service [for investigation]. Tinanggalan na po namin sila ng armas,” he said.

CRIME RATE DOWN

In his presentation, De la Rosa reiterated that since they took office last July 1, there was a down trend on crime incidents such as murder, homicide, physical injuries, robbery and theft.

De la Rosa claimed that as a result of the aggressive campaign against criminality and drugs, the crime index has gone down by 31 percent.

“Everything went down and this is appreciated by the general public,” De la Rosa said.

He said on July 1 to 7, there were 222 recorded murder, 39 homicide, 503 physical injuries, 358 robbery cases and 963 theft while on August 12 to 18 there were 149 recorded murder, 25 homicide, 357 physical injuries, 165 robbery and 165 theft.

Dela Rosa also noted that rape cases also went down from 115 reported incidents from July 1 to 7 down to 32 cases on the seventh week of the administration which is on August 12 to 18.