Incoming PNP chief talks tough, like the boss

‘THE ROCK’ Chief Supt. Ronald dela Rosa is called “Bato” (the Rock) for his solid build. JAYMEE T. GAMIL

Like his boss, incoming top cop Chief Supt. Ronald dela Rosa talks tough—to both drug lords and fellow police officers.

“Stock up on bullets and guns and be ready to fight,” Dela Rosa challenged drug traffickers and others involved in the narcotics trade on Thursday.  “Fight well (because) we will really beat you up,” he added.

The incoming chief of the Philippine National Police  similarly warned scalawags in the police force: “If you work well, I will support you all the way. (But) if you engage in illegal acts, like illegal drugs or protect criminals, I will discipline you for sure,” Dela Rosa said.

The former police chief of Davao City vowed to stamp out illegal drugs within the three to six months that his patron, presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, had sworn to do.

Dela Rosa replaces PNP  Director Gen. Ricardo Marquez who will submit his resignation once Duterte assumes the presidency after June 30.

Internal cleansing

If he were to have his way, the country’s incoming top cop said he will conduct an “internal cleansing” of the 160,000-strong PNP.

“Internal cleansing is important among the ranks of our policemen. Let’s make sure that before we clean other people’s backyards, our own is clean,” Dela Rosa said.

“If policemen have no credibility and people say they are worthless, the citizens won’t cooperate because they doubt the policemen,” he added.

“We will not have the moral ascendancy to enforce the law if our lawmen themselves cannot be disciplined. We have a list of policemen involved especially in illegal drugs and we’ll start when I become PNP chief,” he said.

As Davao City police chief, Dela Rosa said he involved the community in anticriminality drives by getting information from those on the ground that law enforcers later used to immediately conduct operations.

 Shoot-to-kill orders

The incoming PNP chief said he would issue shoot-to-kill orders against criminals, especially if a policeman’s life was at risk.

“You shoot to kill if the criminal fights back or is armed. Would you want to die? Shoot to kill instead of you ending up killed,” Dela Rosa said.

If a drug lord being arrested won’t fight back, Dela Rosa said: “Make them fight back. You become a drug lord and you won’t fight back? Don’t be a drug lord if you don’t want to fight.”

He added: “My advice to (drug lords) while I have yet to start my campaign against them is stock up on bullets and guns and be ready to fight…so this drug menace will end.”

Dela Rosa said he will not tolerate a cover-up of policemen’s wrongdoings, and that the PNP has measures to ensure that abusive policemen are sanctioned or, in some cases, dismissed from the service.

Complaints against errant law enforcers may be forwarded through the Internal Affairs Service, the National Police Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman, he added.

While he was ready to act as father of the PNP, Dela Rosa warned that errant policemen have no place in the organization.