Bato agrees Robredo should join anti-drug operations

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa agrees that Vice President and anti-drug czar Leni Robredo should join anti-drug operations to see the situation on the ground rather than monitoring it from an air-conditioned room.

However, the former police chief warns that Robredo’s safety might be compromised should she actually join operations.

“Mas maganda, para makita niya yung realities on the ground. Mahirap yung you are leading the war inside an air-conditioned room,” Dela Rosa said Tuesday in an interview over ANC’s “Headstart.”

(That’s better, so she should see the realities on the ground.  It’s hard if you are leading the war inside an air-conditioned room.)

“If you are leading the war, you should be at the forefront of the fight para alam na alam mong yung sitwasyon doon (so she should know the situation there),” the senator, who formerly served as chief of the Philippine National Police, added.

The idea of Robredo joining the anti-drug operations was first floated by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino, whom the Vice President shares the chairmanship on the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) with.

READ: PDEA’s Aquino dares Robredo to join drug stings; VP calls it

Robredo said she agrees to the challenge, but expressed she may bring disruption should she join the operations.

READ: Robredo willing to join PDEA anti-drug ops, but…

Dela Rosa also acknowledges that Robredo’s present situation as “unique,” saying he considers her position as Vice President apart from being ICAD co-chair.

“So baka ma-compromise naman yung safety ng Vice President kung may isang bala lang dyan na pupunta sa kanya, delikado siya,” he said.

(Her safety might be compromised. A bullet might hit her, that’s dangerous.)

So his suggestion? “Nasa kanya na ‘yun, nasa dibdib na niya ‘yan kung kakayanin niya na i-risk yung kanyang buhay, sumama siya. Pero ayun nga, may risk talaga.”

(It’s up to her, it’s in her gut if she will risk her life, should she join. But that’s that, there’s really a risk.)  /muf