Bato vows caution if PNP returns to drug war

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has promised that the PNP will exercise extreme caution if President Duterte returns the lead role in the drug war to the police force.

Dela Rosa vowed that the PNP would not commit the same mistakes.

“We will be proceeding at full speed but with extreme caution. We have learned a lot of lessons,” he said during the regular flagraising ceremony at Camp Crame yesterday. “If this is given back to us, I hope we will no longer encounter problems.”

Duterte pulled out the PNP from his anti-drug campaign following reports of irregularities in police operations which led to the deaths of drug suspects, including teenagers.

Dela Rosa said incidents such as the killing of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos in the hands of Caloocan City police made the PNP aware of their mistakes.

As a corrective measure, Dela Rosa is urging local chief executives to provide police anti-narcotics operatives with body cameras to ensure that all operations are recorded.

“We will not allow them to operate without these cameras as we want transparency,” he told reporters.

During the 78th anniversary of the Quezon City Police District yesterday, Mayor Herbert Bautista said the city government will provide 100 body cameras to the local police.

Dela Rosa said that while he cannot ensure there will be no bloodshed in the drug war under the PNP’s leadership, the police will only kill drug suspects as a last resort.

“Our work as police officers is in reaction to the action of our enemies. We will not immediately shoot people. We will ensure our commitment to prevent bloodshed and avoid committing human rights violation is always there,” he added.

He also welcomed the statement of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) that it will monitor the PNP once they are back in the drug war.

“It’s better so they could help us in ensuring violations committed by our people will never happen again,” Dela Rosa said.

But Dela Rosa has insisted the PNP will not change the guidelines outlined in PNP Command Memorandum Circular no. 16-2016.

Petitioners before the Supreme Court are contesting the word “neutralize” in the guidelines, which could be misinterpreted as killing suspected drug dealers and users.

Dela Rosa argued that the word “neutralize” does not automatically mean death for drug suspects. He said it can also mean ar- rest where a suspect is rendered ineffective in performing nefarious acts.

Vigilantes vs scalawags?

Dela Rosa said he might also lead a vigilante group to go after police scalawags just to rid the PNP of misfits.

He warned rogue cops that he would be a thorn in their side until his last day as PNP chief.

“You are free to come and hunt me down even if I’m already retired. I will not back down against you scalawags. You might see a four-star general to lead vigilantes against scalawag policemen,” he said.

“I will be retiring back to Davao and you will be retiring inside the prison jail. If not, you will be retiring six feet under the ground,” he added.

When reporters sought clarification, Dela Rosa explained he only made the statement out of frustration and will only take that option in extreme situations.

“We can call it hopeless and suicidal that we can resort to vigilantism,” he said.

Asked if his statement could be misinterpreted as encouraging violence, Dela Rosa said people should not just take abuses sitting down.

“As a citizen it’s your duty to restore order but for me, I still believe in our government,” he said.