Bato: I’ll break neck of commander who accepted P500k bribe

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 threatened to break the neck of the police commander who accepted half a million peso bribe from a scalawag cop to avoid his assignment in Basilan.

“Whoever that policeman is, he’s a scalawag to the core,” Dela Rosa said of the rogue cop assigned in Manila police who allegedly paid his superior P500,000 to avoid being sent to war-torn Basilan province.

“Balian ko ng leeg sa harapan mo ‘yung opisyal na ‘yan. Babalian ko ng leeg. Galit ako sa mga ganong klaseng opisyal,” he told the reporters Tuesday.

(I’ll break this official’s neck in front of you. I’ll break his neck. I’m angry at those kind of officials.)

“Mananagot ‘yang commander. Siya mismo ang ipapadala, hindi sa Basilan kundi doon sa Timbuktu. Doon ko ipapadala ‘yang commander na ‘yan, hindi sa Basilan,” Dela Rosa added.

(That commander will be held responsible for this. I’ll send him, not to Basilan but to Timbuktu instead. I’ll send him there.)

Earlier at the Quezon City Police District headquarters, Metro Manila police head Director Oscar Albayalde vowed that bribery will not be tolerated by the leadership of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

Albayalde, however, did not identify the cops involved pending an investigation.

The scalawag policeman who paid P500,000 reportedly operates an illegal gambling business.

Over 300 cops facing criminal and administrative charges have been transferred to Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi on the orders of President Duterte while an internal cleansing is being made within the PNP.

But out of the 300, only 53 heeded the reassignment order. JE/rga