Bato de la Rosa says his poll victory validates Duterte’s drug war

MANILA, Philippines — Former chief of police and now Senator-elect Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said his victory in this year’s midterm elections validates the public’s support for the Duterte administration’s controversial war against illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa, who finished fifth in the Senate race after garnering 19,004,225 votes, was the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from July 2016 to April 2018 when he led President Duterte’s drug, which claimed the lives of thousands of drug personalities nationwide.

The former top cop pointed out that most of the residents in Metro Manila, which he tagged as the most affected area of the drug war, voted for him.

“Number 1 ako sa Metro Manila and Metro Manila is the most badly hit by the war on drugs,” Dela Rosa told reporters Wednesday after the proclamation of winning senatorial candidates.

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“Edi expected mo sana kung galit sa akin ang tao nasa kangkungan sana ako ngayon. Number 1 ibig sabihin nagustuhan nila ‘yung war on drugs,” he added.

(You’d expect me to lose if the people are angry with me. But since I’m number 1, that means they like the war on drugs.)

Dela Rosa, one of the new faces in the upper chamber, also noted that he will push for the reimposition of the death penalty but only for convicted drug traffickers. (Editor: Eden Estopace)