Duterte defends order to Bato not to remove Supt. Marcos

President Rodrigo Duterte and PNP Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday defended his order to PNP chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa not to remove Supt. Marvin Marcos, the police official allegedly involved in the killing of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. 

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Duterte said he was only doing an investigative job on Marcos.

“I am doing an investigative job. Natapos na yun, si Dolina was cleared. Marcos, positive. Kasi I was keeping track of his movements,” he said in an ambush interview in Davao City.

Chief Supt. Asher Dolina was the police director of Eastern Visayas in 2015 implicated by self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa who had received drug money.

The President admitted that he ordered his special assistant Christopher “Bong” Go to call PNP chief dela Rosa regarding Marcos.

But the President said it was him who talked to dela Rosa.

“Ganito yan, si Bong inoderan ko, call. By the time pinasa niya, ang sumagot si dela Rosa. Sabi ko, do not remove the guy because kasali yan sa…,” Duterte said.

(It went like this. I ordered Bong to call. By the time he handed me the phone, the one who answered was Dela Rosa. I told him, do not remove the guy because he’s part of the…)

Duterte explained why he did not want to remove Marcos from office yet.

“Alisin mo ako doon, mawala bigla ang… Mawala lahat. Hindi ko masundan,” he said.

(If you remove him there, all well be gone. We won’t be able to follow.)

The President said Marcos was tainted with drug links while Dolina had no link to illegal drugs.

He said Marcos has to favor the charges against him.

“He has to face the charges. But ngayon, pwede nang…(But now, it’s OK to…) Let him maintain the right to be heard,” he said. TVJ