Former Philippine National Police and now Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa expressed disappointment over the resurgence of drugs in the country after the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The lawmaker compared the anecdotes during the implementation of Duterte’s drug war and the current administration’s anti-narcotics campaign.
“Ang daming tao na nagsasabi na nagpapasalamat sila sa war on drugs dahil safe na ‘yung kanilang environment. So, for us, it’s a great success,” Dela Rosa said.
Voicing his opinion about the current drug situation, Dela Rosa said it’s “worse.”
“Malala! Tanungin mo ang mga barangay kapitan, pumunta ka. Pumunta ka do’n sa ground…Wala kang maririnig na barangay kapitan na magsabi na, ‘Sir, okay ang aming sitwasyon sa drugs. Perfect na, wala nang problema,'” the Mindanaoan lawmaker shared.
“Halos lahat magsasabi sa’yo [kahit] hindi nga natin tinatanong eh, lalapit sa atin at magsusumbong. ‘Sir, andiyan na naman sila, Sir. Nagkakalat na naman. Noon nagsipaglayasan ‘yan, nagsipagtago. Ngayon, andiyan nanaman, parang candy nanaman na binebenta ‘yung drugs sa kalsada,'” he went on.
Dela Rosa led the implementation of the Duterte administration’s drug war as the then chief of the Philippine National Police from 2016 to 2018.
During the past administration, Dela Rosa emphasized that there were around 1.6 million drug-linked individuals who had surrendered and at least 300,000 were arrested.
He reiterated that the Duterte drug war needed to be that stringent to protect the future generations and he doesn’t regret being the implementor of Oplan Tokhang.
“Kaya namin ginawa ni Pangulong Duterte ‘yon dahil mahal na mahal namin ang kabataan, na maisalba ang kabataan sa problema sa ilegal na droga. Kung wala akong pakialam… Anong pakialam ko, Chief PNP ako, after niyan, mag-retire ako, may retirement ako, bakit pa ako papasok sa problema? Dahil iniisip namin ang future generation ng Pilipinas,” the former top cop said.
In another interview, Dela Rosa emphasized the importance of the president’s full support to the law enforcers in the implementation of the war on drugs.
“Huwag tayong papetiks-petiks lang, dapat seryosohin natin. At ‘pag tinatanong ko ang mga kapulisan ngayon, sila, they’re willing to bet their life diyan sa giyera ng droga provided na may back up sa Malacanang,” the senator said.
“Noong panahon ni Pangulong Duterte, ‘Sige, go ahead. Upakan niyo ‘yung problema sa droga. Kapag kayo’y nagkaproblema in line of duty, sagot ko kayo! Pero ‘pag kayo naman ang nag-abuso, kayo ang mananagot sa akin,’ sabi ni Pangulong Duterte. So gano’n po ang treatment natin,” he said further.
Dela Rosa led the implementation of Duterte’s drug war as he served as the chief of the Philippine National Police from 2016 to 2018.
