PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa. Sen. Lyn Rillon/PDI
Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Thursday denied that he gave information to President Rodrigo Duterte linking Senator Leila De Lima to the drug trade.
During the appropriations committee hearing of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) proposed P148.73-billion budget in 2017, Dela Rosa was asked by Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque if it was the police who gave Duterte information for his drug matrix.
Dela Rosa said the President has his own sources of information about the alleged drug activities of De Lima, his driver and supposed lover Ronnie Dayan, former Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan and former Pangasinan governor and now congressman Amado Espino Jr.
Duterte linked De Lima in the drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison at the time she led a Senate investigation into the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects by scalawag police.
Dela Rosa said what he furnished to the President was a list of errant police officers involved in the drug trade. These police officers were transferred to other regions in Mindanao.
“Honestly, your Honor, hindi po lahat yun nanggaling sa amin. May ibang source si Presidente. Ang inaamin ko lang po, ang nanggaling sa atin yung mga pulis namin na involved, yung mga pinalipat sa ibang regions,” Dela Rosa said.
(Those didn’t come from us. The President has other sources. What I own up to is, regarding those policemen involved, those who were transferred to other regions.)
READ: Aguirre says drug matrix list not from DOJ
On Wednesday night, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre also denied providing Duterte the information to link his predecessor De Lima to the drug trade.
De Lima vehemently denied the allegation, calling the drug matrix rubbish. Meanwhile, Espino said he met with President Duterte on Tuesday to deny the allegation and to reaffirm his support for the administration’s war on drugs./rga
EAD: Espino meets Duterte, denies drug link | De Lima calls matrix linking her to drugs trade ‘rubbish’