House leaders join call for PNP chief’s resignation

Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza said that Dela Rosa’s departure will give the PNP the opportunity to regain its already tarnished image even before the killing of the South Korean happened. (Photo: Philippine National Police/Facebook)

MANILA—Calls for Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to quit continue to mount at the House of Representatives as two more House leaders on Sunday challenged the embattled police official to submit his courtesy resignation and give President Rodrigo Duterte a free hand to decide on his fate.

In separate interviews, Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza and Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop said Dela Rosa has no other option but to submit his courtesy resignation or immediately leave his post following the murder of South Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo inside the PNP national headquarters at Camp Crame by his alleged policemen kidnappers led by Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel.

“We support Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s call for him to resign because of that major failure to the national police leadership. This is a big scandal for the country, the Duterte administration and the ongoing war ondrugs. Under the principle of command responsibility, it dictates that he should take the bullet for the President and no alibis can possibly soften public anger on what had happened to the South Korean victim,” Atienza said.

Last Friday, Alvarez urged Dela Rosa to resign to save President Duterte from further embarrassment and restore respect to the Office of the PNP Chief.

“The commission of a heinous crime right under his very nose is not only an insult but a clear indication that he has lost the respect of his people,” Alvarez has said.

Atienza said that Dela Rosa’s departure will give the PNP the opportunity to regain its already tarnished image even before the killing of the South Korean happened.

“There is no way he can retain himself and we urge the President to let him go and choose a better man who will not be an embarrassment to his anti-illegal drugs campaign,” the House Deputy Minority Leader said.

“He can no longer effectively convince the public that he can do the job. He should enjoy life and give the PNP a chance to excel and regain public trust. The very sad fate of the South Korean victim made him to lose his ability to effectively lead the PNP,” Atienza said.

Meanwhile, Acop said that Dela Rosa can ease the burden of the President by submitting a courtesy resignation as soon as possible.

“If I were PNP Chief Ronald dela Rosa, I will tender my courtesy resignation to the President,” the chair of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety said in an interview at a radio program over dzBB.

“I will not let the President decide on the suggestions or recommendations of other people. I will personally tender my courtesy resignation because it happened under my own roof and my own men were involved,” Acop said.

A lawyer and former police general, Acop added that he was shocked and embarrassed by the illegal activities of some police officers nowadays despite the presence of a tough-talking Chief Executive.

“For the PNP, it is a big blow. One, it happened within the national headquarters. Two, it would have been better for them if civilians were the perpetrators. As it happened, the perpetrators of the crime were their own men. It is a double whammy for the PNP,” Acop said.

However, several groups have expressed their support for Dela Rosa, among them the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).

VACC founding chair Dante Jimenez said calls for Dela Rosa to resign is still premature, “but it is a wake-up call for him to work double time.”

“I understand where Speaker Alvarez is coming from because Congress is the one appropriating budget for police operations. But his resignation is premature, in fact he worked hard to address this problem,” he said.

“Nonetheless, what happened was a great embarrassment for him; he has to work very hard. He should also refrain from doing some unnecessary media or publicity stunts by observing proper decorum as the head of the PNP,” Jimenez said in a separate interview.

Meanwhile, Teresita Ang See of the Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) did not make a comment on the resignation calls stressing that she was not aware of the Speaker’s position.

Ang See disclosed last week that at least 11 “tokhang for ransom” cases committed by scalawag policemen have been reported following the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs.