Bato: I won’t be like Fabian Ver

Having experienced the atrocities during martial law, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said he will never be like Fabian Ver, the most trusted military officer of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Dela Rosa debunked comparisons between him and Ver. The two were both extended to their posts indefinitely.

“Tell them the Ver blood does not run in my veins. I’m purely a Dela Rosa from Davao,” he said yesterday in an ambush interview with reporters.

Dela Rosa said he has vivid recollections of the atrocities when the country was under martial law during the Marcos regime.

“I have experienced the hardships during martial law so I will never do that during my time. I will never do that again,” Dela Rosa said.

Dela Rosa was supposed to retire on Jan. 21 but President Duterte extended his term first for three months then indefinitely, citing the problem of scalawags within the police organization.

Ver was supposed to retire in 1976 but Marcos extended his term indefinitely.