President Rodrigo Duterte (left) shares a laugh with Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (right) as PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa listens between them. PHOTO FROM CHRISTOPHER ‘BONG’ GO
When President Duterte attended the 55th birthday celebration of Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa at Camp Crame on Sunday night, the embattled police official offered to resign but his boss told him to just carry on and get down to work.
In a press conference on Monday, Dela Rosa shared details of his conversation with the President about the clamor for him to step down amid the controversies hounding the PNP, including the killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo by anti-drug policemen.
“Pagpasok ni (President Duterte) doon, sabi ko sa kanya: ‘Sir, they’re calling for my resignation. Mag-resign na ako.’ Sabi niya: ‘No, mag-trabaho ka,’” he said.
READ: Despite Korean slay case Duterte says PNP chief will stay
Duterte, in a speech at the party, said that he trusted Dela Rosa and that he would let him keep his position as the chief of the 160,000-strong police force.
And the “number one person” calling for his resignation, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, was also invited to his birthday party at the PNP Multipurpose Center, just few steps from where the Korean trader was killed by cops last October 18.
Dela Rosa said he and Alvarez remained on good terms despite the latter urging him to resign over Jee’s killing, saying the police chief “has lost the respect of his people.”
He branded the call for him to resign as “cruel” and dared Alvarez to “tell the President to fire me.”
READ: Alvarez tells Bato: Resign!
“And the number one na nag-call ng resignation ko, nandoon din naman kagabi. Nag-usap kami. We had a private conversation. Okay na. Marami kami napagusapan kagabi,” he said.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre said during the weekly flag raising ceremony in Camp Crame on Monday that some people were using the killing of the Korean to discredit President Duterte and Dela Rosa.
Saying Jee’s killing was an “isolated case,” Aguirre said he did not support the resignation calls against Dela Rosa.
As the PNP probes the case deeper, Dela Rosa said they would also look into the possibility that the perpetrators of the crime were part of a “grand conspiracy” to weaken Duterte and his war on drugs. CBB/rga
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