MANILA, Philippines – Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday clarified his statement that one cannot just play cute when combating illegal drugs, referring to newly-appointed anti-drug czar Vice President Leni Robredo.
“Hindi ko man sinabi na nagpapa-cute siya, she’s basically cute. Cute lang siya akin (I didn’t say she’s playing cute, she’s basically cute. She’s cute for me),” he said of Leni Robredo when interviewed on ABS-CBN News Channel
READ: Dela Rosa tells Robredo: ‘This is war… hindi ka pwedeng pa-cute dito’
Leni Robredo is now at the helm of the government’s war on drugs after she accepted her appointment as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs.
“Gyera ito, reality ito (This is war, this is the reality). I’ve been there. I’ve done that and I’ve suffered enough in this war,” Dela Rosa stressed.
“Hindi lang ako, kung hindi pamilya ko, mga tauhan ko. Ang dami kong tao namatay 120 policemen namatay and more than 800 ang wounded sa war on drugs (Not just me, but even my family, my men. I lost many people, 120 policemen died and more than 800 were wounded in this war on drugs).”
“So anong masasabi ko? We have to deal with reality. This is reality, hindi ito fantasy film kundi action movie ito (What can I say? We have to deal with the reality. This is a reality, this is not a fantasy film, this is an action movie).”
Dela Rosa previously headed the Philippine National Police and was one of the brains behind the government’s campaign against illegal drugs dubbed “Oplan Tokhang.” /gsg