Dela Rosa says job at BuCor more stressful than his role at PNP

Fomer Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief and incumbent Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa said on Monday that his current job is more stressful.

“Iba. ‘Yong stress dito (in PNP) as I have said, ‘yong kalaban hinahanap mo nilo-locate mo, eh doon (BuCor) ang kalaban na-locate mo, nasa loob eh, and yet wala kang magawa (It’s different. The stress at PNP, as I have said, is you are trying to locate the enemy. At Bucor, the enemy is inside, but you can’t do anything about it),” Dela Rosa told reporters in an ambush interview at Camp Crame.

According to the man fondly called “Bato,” he wants to punish convicted criminals, especially those still involved in illegal activities, but he is restrained by laws.

“Gusto mong pagtitirisin ‘di ba, dahil gumagawa pa rin ng kalokohan, pero di mo pwedeng gawin. Ano’ng gagawin mo, i-short circuit iyong building nila para masunog sila? Hindi mo pwedeng gawin iyan (You like to punish them because they continue to do illegal things, but you can’t do that. So what do you do? Would you set the building on fire? You can’t do that),” he said.

“So iyon lang talaga, bantay ka lang talaga na hindi sila mapasukan ng cellphone para walang communication sa labas, at iyong mga guwardya mo dapat, nagto-tow the line, na hindi makipag-connive sa kanila (So that’s it, you can only guard them so they can’t get hold of cellphones they can use to communicate to the outside world. The guards should tow the line, and not connive with the prisoners),” he said.

Dela Rosa was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as BuCor chief on April 30, shortly after he retired from the  police service. He became famous for leading the administration’s war on illegal drugs, which has drawn flak  for its alleged disregard for human rights.

READ: Dela Rosa officially appointed as BuCor chief

He is set to resign from the post by October, as he had confirmed his senatorial bid. During the interview, Dela Rosa said that he likes to spend more time with the agency but doing so would just increase his stress levels.

READ: It’s official: Bato throws hat in the ring for senatorial race

“Marami pa (There will be more),” he said when asked if he still has projects in mind. “Gusto ko pa sana ng mahaba-haba (I would have wanted more time). On the other hand, kung maigsi, yung stress sa buhay natin, medyo matanda na tayo, mababawas-bawasan (if we can reduce the stress level, that is also good because we are not getting yount),” Dela Rosa said in jest.

The BuCor chief also said they are trying to irradicate corruption, but the temptation for many is there.

“Kahit na swelduhan mo ‘yong mga correction officers ng milyon-milyon, kung talagang magpapasilaw sila sa pera, masisilaw talaga sila (Even if you give them salaries in the millions, if they are after the money, they will still do it),” he added. /ee