Bato dela Rosa on bloody drug war: We had to do it
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said Thursday that the drug war waged during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte which killed 6,000 suspected drug personalities, was necessary.
Dela Rosa made the position when he was asked if himself, as a former police chief during the Duterte administration, had any regrets in implementing the bloody drug war.
“Well, any loss of life, may regret tayo. Hindi dapat namatay ang tao. Kasama rin dyan ‘yung mga pulis na namatay during operations...there were about 80 to 120 police officials who died. Any loss of life, any injury, is regrettable. But then again, hindi natin pwedeng sabihin na hindi kami dapat nag-wage ng war on drugs,” Dela Rosa said during the Super Radyo dzBB Ikaw Na Ba Senatorial interviews.
(We always have regrets when it comes to loss of life. People should not die, including the police officials who died during operations. But then again, we cannot say that we should not have waged the war against drugs.)
“Dahil kung hindi kami nag-wage ng war on drugs, baka narco-state na ang Pilipinas ngayon. Dahil ang daming mga drug lord noon, hawak na nila ‘yung mga probinsya, mga siyudad nila. Sila na ang nagdedecide kung sino pwede maging mayor, maging gobernador, maging congressman. Ganon sila ka-powerful,” dela Rosa added.
(If not for the drug war, the Philippines could have been a narco-state by now. There were lots of drug lords then, and they controlled the provinces, cities. They decide who gets to be mayor, governor, congressman. That is how powerful they are.)
Without the drug war, Dela Rosa said crime incidents in the country could have worsened.
“We have to do that [war on drugs]. We had to do that,” Dela Rosa added.
Fake drug busts
Likewise, Dela Rosa said that the entire police force cannot be blamed over police officials who make money by faking drug busts.
“Nung pagpasok natin, hindi kaagad na weed out yung mga ninja cops. At yung mga ninja cops na involved doon sa operations meron doon iba doon na yung kanilang mga ginagamit sa baba ay talagang pinaproject nila. Dahil nga, para hindi abot sa kanila sunog, kailangan ito mahuli kaagad at magkaroon ng fall guy,” dela Rosa added.
(When we came in, the bad cops were not immediately weeded out. These ninja cops are really into using the people on the ground, making them as projects, so they are able to escape liability. They find fall guys.)
Based on government records, there are at least 6,000 drug suspects killed in the anti-drug police operations.
Human rights groups, however, have tallied 30,000 drug suspects killed, including those gunned down by supposed vigilantes.
Former President Duterte has offered no apologies for his drug war policy and even dared the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate him for crimes against humanity as soon as possible.
As for confidential and intelligence funds, Dela Rosa said he is in favor of it being limited to agencies in charge of national security and law enforcement such as the military, the police, as well as the Department of Justice and its attached agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigation.
“Huwag na [sa ibang agencies]. Para walang issue, walang gulo,” dela Rosa said.
(Other agencies should not have it so it won't be messy.)
— RSJ, GMA Integrated News
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