Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), spoke too soon and made a fool of himself.
He said Malacañang had prepared huge amounts of cash gifts for all key PNP officials, from P50,000 up to P400,000.
So, the wives of high PNP officials jumped for joy upon hearing the news.
But what about the PNP’s rank and file—like the PO1s, PO2s, PO3s, SPO1s, SPO2s, etc? Weren’t they also entitled to the cash bonus from Malacañang? the wives of low-ranking members asked.
It turned out there are no funds for such expenditure.
And President Digong didn’t even tell Bato that there was such a huge cash bonus for police officials or low-ranking cops.
Dela Rosa just made up the story about the huge bonus.
Now the PNP officials and rank and file are grumbling because their wives are demanding from them the cash gifts announced by Bato.
Bato is probably the most irresponsible chief the PNP—and its predecessor, the Philippine Constabulary—has ever had.
A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, like most of the PNP and PC chiefs before him, he is the most unbecoming of a leader.
Dela Rosa makes irresponsible statements that compromise his Commander in Chief, President Digong.
Like his statement that he should be forgiven because the killings of drug addicts and drug pushers will go on, belying government claims that the extrajudicial killings are not officially sanctioned.
An incident that placed the President in a bad light was the retention of an erring police official in Eastern Visayas.
Bato told reporters that somebody, a compadre, had asked for the retention of the erring official, prompting the President to own up to the indiscretion.
Bato once challenged his underlings to a fistfight, gun duel, knife fight and whatever after receiving reports that some of them were trying to undermine his leadership.
He is probably too dense to know that oftentimes he annoys the President with his braggadocio.
Mano Digong once said that Bato outshines him in fame.
If Bato reads the “48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers, one piece of advice given to an aspiring subordinate is for him not to outshine his boss.
Mr. Duterte made a big mistake of selecting Bato to become PNP chief over other more senior police officials.
The President is probably now regretting it.
The same can be said of the President’s appointment of Jaime Morente as Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
Morente, like Dela Rosa, was once chief of police of Davao City, apparently the reason for his appointment to the highest immigration post.
Morente has shown disrespect to his immediate superior, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, by making appointments at BI without consulting the justice department chief.
As a result, Aguirre says he no longer wants to work with Morente, making the President choose between him and the BI chief.
Naturally, the President would choose Aguirre, his classmate and fraternity brod at San Beda College of Law, over Morente./rga