Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald Bato dela Rosa, in a visit to members of the Special Action Force at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) on Wednesday, said he has ordered an investigation on allegations that they have been involved in the illegal drug trade inside the national penitentiary.
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“Yung DIDM (Directorate for Investigative and Detective Management) will conduct the formal investigation and DI will conduct counter-intelligence dahil may mga portions sa investigation na hindi nakukuha sa formal investigation (because there are portions of the investigation that cannot be obtained through a formal investigation),” Dela Rosa, who wanted to pull out the troops to prevent the image of his men from being tainted, told reporters in an ambush interview.
In his address to the troops, dela Rosa said that SAF is the unit he relies on the most.
“From the very beginning sabi ko sa inyo, wala na akong ibang maasahan sa buong PNP kundi kayo lang, kayo ang pinakadisiplinado na myembro ng PNP,” he said.
(From the very beginning, I already told you, you are the unit I trust the most in the PNP because you are the PNP’s most disciplined members.)
“Kung masira ang SAF, sira ang buong PNP, dahil kayo ang pinaka maaasahan ko. Wala na akong ibang makuhang tao na hindi pwedeng ma-corrupt, kayo na ‘yun. Kung masira ‘yan I don’t know where to go, (whom) can I turn to?” he said.
(If the SAF is destroyed, the entire PNP will be destroyed because I rely on you the most. I can no longer find people who are incorruptible, but just you. If you are ruined, I would not know where to go, whom I can turn to.)
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Tuesday said there would be a changing of guards at the NBP by the end of the month following information of the resurgence of illegal drug trade, and that some members of SAF were already coerced to engage in the drug trade.
READ: New Bilibid guards eyed after SAF men tagged in drug trade
The SAF, which were only supposed to be deployed for three to six months at the NBP, replaced Bureau of Corrections jail guards after several raids failed to stop the drug trade there. IDL