‘Adik yung tao na yun,’ Bato says of cop in Tarlac shooting

MANILA, Philippines —  Former top cop and now Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Wednesday expressed belief that the cop who brutally killed a mother and her son in Tarlac is a drug addict.

Dela Rosa noted the background of suspect Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca, including the administrative case filed against him in 2014 for refusing to undergo the mandatory drug testing.

“Tingnan mo yung background ni Nuezca, he was already charged for evading drug testing, meaning addict yung tao na yun. Bakit ka umiiwas, bakit ka umiiwas sa drug testing kung hindi ka adik,” the senator said in an interview over ABS-CBN News on Wednesday.

(Look at Nuezca’s background, he was already charged for evading drug testing, meaning that person is a drug addict. Why would you evade drug testing if you are not an addict?)

“So yung ganun na aksyon, sigurado ako apektado sa drugs yung utak nung tao na yun. Basta yung kanyang decision-making apektado sa pagte-take nya ng droga. So pasok pa rin yan sa drug trafficking (bill) ko dahil kung walang drugs na papasok, walang pulis na ganun kasiraulo,” he added.

Dela Rosa was referring  to the bill he filed in the Senate, seeking the revival of the death penalty for  high level drug trafficking.

Nuezca has already tested negative for drugs, Tarlac provincial police director Col. Renante Cabico said.

But Dela Rosa insisted that Nuezca’s killing of 52-year-old Sonya Gregorio and her 25-year-old son Frank Anthony after an altercation in Tarlac last Sunday could fall under his proposed measure.

While his bill only covers high-level drug trafficking, he said lawmakers may also consider including those policemen engaged in “cold-blooded” killings of unarmed civilians during the debates.

Dela Rosa reiterated that Nuezca deserved the death penalty for killing unarmed victims.

“I don’t see enough provocation on the part of the victims. Sobra, sobra yung ginawa nya (What he did was too much),” he further said.

EDV