Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa told relieved Caloocan policemen who will undergo retraining that he is proud of their contribution in the campaign against illegal drugs amid the recent complaints against them.
“Hindi ako galit sa inyo. In fact, humahanga ako sa inyo dahil sa ginagawa ninyo sa Caloocan,” he told the policemen at the opening cermeony for the reorientation at Camp Bagong Diwa on Monday.
(I’m not angry at you. In fact, I admire you all for what you are doing in Caloocan.)
He said the Caloocan cops dealt with the drug problem head on.
“Hindi ako taga-Metro Manila, pero na-shock ako pumunta ako ng Caloocan for the first time, nakita ko lahat ng dispatcher, tricycle driver, habal-habal driver; ‘yung mukha natutunaw na, ang gums, dahil sa shabu, kakagamit ng shabu. Makikita mo kung gaano kalaki ang drug problem,” Dela Rosa said.
Philippine National Police chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net
(I’m not from Metro Manila, but I was shocked when I went to Caloocan for the first time, I saw all the dispatchers, tricycle drivers, habal-habal drivers; their faces seemed as if they were melting, their gums, because of their shabu use. You can really see how big the drug problem is.)
“Meron lang iba sumobra sa inyo kaya dapat parusahan at managot (There are just some who went overboard so they must be punished),” he told the 1,024 cops who will undergo re-training for 30 to 45 days.
The re-training of the policemen comes after a string of controversies involving members of the Caloocan police, including the deaths of three minors Kian delos Santos, Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo de Guzman. The entire Caloocan police force were relieved after the incident.
“Masasabi ko sa harap ng media na andito na I’m still very proud of my men what they have done to Caloocan. Kahit sabihin niyo tarantado sila. I’m still proud of them. Dahil sa haba ng panahon ‘yung droga sa Caloocan pinabayaan at pinagkaperahan ng mga kapulisan…. Ngayon lang inatake ang problema ‘yung iba sobrang gigil upakan kaya sumobra… Hindi namin sila pinabayaan kaya andito sila magre-retraining,” he said.
(I can say in front of media here that I’m still very proud of my men for what they have done to Caloocan. Even though you say they’re fools. I’m still proud of them. The drug problem in Caloocan was left alone and profited by the police for the longest time and it’s only now that they’re attacking the problem with so much fervor that it went overboard… We won’t neglect them, that’s why they will undergo retraining.)
The PNP chief also told the policemen to set aside their pride and not to be ashamed.
“I am a four-star general. I am your chief PNP. Nilulunok ko ang pride ko everytime nagkakamali tayo. Hindi ako mahihiya umiyak sa tao kung ako’y nasasaktan… dahil ako’y tao na pwedeng ibaba ang pride kung kinakailangan. So dapat ganun din kayo, kalimutan niyo ang pride niyo,” he said.
(I swallow my pride everytime we make a mistake. I’m not ashamed to cry in front of people when I’m hurt… because I’m a person who can lay down my pride when needed. So you need to be that way too, forget your pride.) /je