Can Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronaldo ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa control the men under his watch? There is enough evidence to say that he cannot. There were already signs earlier even before his first six months on the job was up that the burden of weeding out the bad from the good cops was too much for him to handle. During a Senate hearing in November 2016, Bato wept in frustration in front of the public and admitted “that he is finding it hard to clean their ranks from erring cops”. Some found his emotional outburst “touching”, but there were also some who thought that it was not a good sign for the Chief of police to show his weak side. We can only imagine how the psychopaths in the police force were laughing at him in secret after discovering that it would be easy to cut him down to size.
Fast forward to today and the people can only shake their heads in disappointment at the revelation that members of the police themselves kidnapped for ransom and eventually murdered South Korean businessman Ji Ick Joo in October 2016. Again, we cannot help but emphasise that this happened under Bato’s watch. There are also allegations that the police murdered by strangling the South Korean in his own vehicle while inside the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City on the same day he was kidnapped. This is simply despicable. Even more disgusting is the way the murderers disposed of his body – cremating him in a crematorium owned by a former cop. It doesn’t get any creepier than this, surely. It’s like a script from a gangster movie.
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The sad part is, this actually happened and if you Google it, this is being reported all over the world. This is bad news for the current government. President Rodrigo Duterte should consider firing someone over this fiasco. Calls for Bato to resign are definitely mounting. Bato should consider stepping down to protect his honour and more importantly, to protect the integrity of the Duterte administration. Sticking around when his trust rating is going down the drain would affect his ability to lead the police force.
It is crystal clear that Bato does not command respect from some members of the PNP. He knew the existence of bad cops. He should have had a strategy to weed them out. He should have asked help from other agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, the Office of the Ombudsman and state auditors to investigate and get rid of the men whose lifestyles were not consistent with their take home pay as cops.
The thought of asking Bato to resign is not easy for those who came to love his animated character. He projected an image of a mascot, sometimes even wearing a costume to work. It’s probably his way of trying to appeal to the people and revamp the image of the PNP. While it worked with some members of the public, unfortunately, his tactic also annoyed some people. They thought he should be serious, do less public relations work and do more of his real work, which includes focusing on getting rid of the bad cops under him.
To be fair, the bad cops already existed even before Bato got the job as Chief of PNP. The previous government under former President BS Aquino did not do much to fix the problem in the PNP. Corruption even got worse under the former PNP Chief Alan Purisima who was also Aquino’s buddy. The question is, what did Bato do to straighten them out? Was he expecting them to change just by telling them to change? I think it was naïve of him to think that psychopaths can change. He should have been more focused in dealing with the problem at hand. Otherwise, if he can’t handle it, he should give it to someone who can.
Even if Bato is forced to resign, it doesn’t mean he is a bad person or a loser. It will actually mean that he has honour and that he is not too full of himself. It remains to be seen though how Duterte will handle him after the revelation that he is not fit to transform the PNP.
There are people who are saying that this could be part of a demolition job by Duterte’s opponent. They say that the crime was deliberately done inside PNP headquarters to humiliate Bato and the Duterte administration. Whether or not this is true, the fact remains, there are members of the police who are willing to commit heinous crimes against innocent people instead of protecting them. That says a lot about Bato’s leadership and the war against drugs. The enemy could be outsmarting him. That’s too bad for the people. Bato should shape up or ship out for the sake of the people.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
Wait for a year or two but Bato is not helping when he is acting like a kid in a concert or a boxing match.
The PNP is deeply involved in illegal Shabu Drug Trafficking. There are “Ninja Cops”, inside the PNP. There are criminals inside the PNP…
The PNP was utterly corrupted, during the time of Aquino…remember that crooked cop, Purisima, directing the Mamampasano special Police operation ? This Dude was under suspension, for graft and corruption.
I think, the corruption situation, in the PNP is pandemic…corruption is already deeply rooted.
Putting another man there, will not solve the problem. Only by systematic weeding out of crooked cops, can solve the problem. These crooked cops should be punished !
If you weeded out the crooked cops, who would be left?
I wish Pinoys could put aside their pride (=hubris) just for a couple of years and call on the UN to provide a substitute police force, staffed by personnel from a functioning country.
The country is rotten to the core. The very fabric of society is drenched in criminality. It is pointless trying to draft honest, strong, and upright men into the police force from a fundamentally dishonest, cowardly, and depraved population.
U.N. policing us, is not the answer.
We have to solve our own problems. If you begin to jail corrupt politicians, who are attached to these crooked cops.
That would be the first step…bring back the Death Penalty ! Execute these crooked cops by firing squad !
Well, you don’t have to. You just want to. There’s no shame in asking for help when you’re out of options, and the Philippines ran out of options decades ago. Why flounder in ignominy with all the world pointing and laughing at you?
And what would be the point of bringing back the death penalty if there are no honest judges or lawyers to hand out justice? Besides, if such a thing existed, the population of the country would be decimated.
Demanding for Gen Bato’s resignation is premature at this time since the truth is still out there. Why don’t we wait until the truth is bared for all to see? This is definitely the handiwork of handlers opposed to the current administration, who used dirty police to carry on with the dirty job. They should be found and punished to the fullest extent of the law (death penalty, I would suggest.)
My opinion at the time,and still survives,was that dela Rosa should have been sacked after the Pacquiao fight fiasco.
He was appointed head of the PNP,widely considered one of the most corrupt organizations in the government,with a mandate to clean it up. After his acceptance of an all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas for himself and family became public knowledge,his response was he saw no impropriety in taking it as ‘it was free,so why not’ and ‘I didn’t steal anything’.
What message does this send to junior,poorly paid officers?
My belief is that if dela Rosa is so unaware of the example he is setting in his mandate to cut out corruption,he has no business being in the job.
Corruption is so ingrained in the PNP that for dele Rosa to resign over the latest incident would mean fitting a revolving door to his office.
Has Pres Duterte rowed back from his ‘my police,right or wrong’ stance,as incidents like this make it less and less tenable?
They should make that the national motto.
Fixed that for you.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Filipinos simply don’t draw any distinction between corruption and what we would call ‘legitimate’ rewards like salaries and commissions. To us, it’s obvious that a police officer (of whatever rank) shouldn’t accept any gift other than his salary. The Filipino is so used to horse-trading of favors (and always on the lookout for something-for-nothing) that he genuinely doesn’t get why not.
I’ve met a few Filipinos who would not accept any gifts intended to influence their opinions. However, even they know how it works and will bribe when someone needs bribing. If Bato were to resign, someone just like him – or far worse – would take his place.
Why spoil PNP Chief Bato and give him too much media exposure/attention? Yes, we want him to be a role model for all policemen. But we should never make him feel special or very important and to remind him as public servant to always stay simple.
It seems that PNP chief Bato feels famous like a celebrity star – sobra OA on camera at madalas paiyak-iyak pa with very dramatic speeches but then we see Bato:
1. Enjoying a Bryan Adam concert
2. Watching Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas
3. Appear in T.V. Shows
4. Attending movie premiers
.
.
.
.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208074444601472&set=gm.1230209157027258&type=3&theater
Wahoo! Huli ka, Bato!
This is probably the reason why he’s so distracted, can’t focus on his job and resulted to colleagues jealousy or envy @work where other officer may try to rebel against him and also enrich themselves by seeking easy money – kidnapping/robbery/rape/extortion activities.
As his name implies, Gen.”Bato” needs to be tough as a rock and show no emotions, no weakness, no mercy and serious in fighting criminals/ syndicates/police scalawags.
And please lang bawas bawasan mo ang masyado showbiz, limelights, goodtime at mag-papansin sa media (camera) dahil hinde ka artista o President ng Pilipinas.
The perpetrator killed the Korean in broad daylight, in Gen. Bato own backyard (Camp Crame) and just beside/adjacent to his white house. If Gen. Bato has many extra-curricular activities, so how can we expect him to really do (focus) his official work?
What’s even more intriguing is when an inquiry in to this imbroglio starts rolling!
SPO3 Ricky Sta. Isabel (the cop tagged in Jee Ick Joo slay) had said those who are pointing to him as the most guilty in the case are only protecting high-ranking officials. When asked who he thinks are benefiting from the alleged cover-up, he said:
“Mga involved dito [na] matataas na tao.”
“Talagang ganun meron silang pinagtatakpan para hindi masira ang organisasyon.”
“Negosyanteng pulis ako, sumusunod lang ako sa instruction nila.”
“Court na ang bahalang mag-prove. Sa court na lang mas maganda, may dokumento naman.”
He refused to mention names though, saying it was not the “proper time” for him to do so but he is ready to divulge the details before the court.
We say abangan ang susunod na kabanata!
I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. But these are virtues to be cherished, for without them we are no more than beasts roaming the land.
NEWS FLASH!!! President Duterte refused his resignation request of PNP Chief Bato Dela Rosa.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/01/23/1665262/bato-stay-pnp-chief-he-has-my-complete-trust-duterte
And what now for Bato? If he’s still NOT doing a great job as a PNP Chief after that Korean businessman murder fiasco then he should commit a harakiri just like what Angelo Reyes did 6 years ago in order not to burden the problems that are facing to PNP right now. President Duterte take note on this! Bantayan nyo po siya at huwag nyo kaming lokohin.