‘Bato’ lauds Drilon proposal to realign drug budget to PNP housing

FILE: Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa (Photo: Philippine National Police/Facebook)

MANILA — Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Friday lauded the proposal of Senate Minority leader Franklin Drilon to realign the PHP1.4-billion anti-illegal drug campaign budget to build more housing units for policemen.

“Napakalaki ng pasalamat at paghanga ko kay Senator Drilon sa kanyang proposal. Talagang humahanga ako sa kanya kahapon dahil after all, kahit he is a critic of the PNP sa war on drugs but yun pala tinitingnan nya pa rin yung kabutihan ng ating kapulisan (I thank Senator Drilon for his proposal. I admire him because even though he has criticized the PNP over the war on drugs, he still looks after the welfare of the police),” dela Rosa said.

The PNP chief, however, said he is more inclined to support the proposal of Senator JV Ejercito to realign the money intended for the police anti-drug campaign to anti-terrorism efforts.

“(That) is okay rin naman sa amin dahil we cannot afford to have a repeat of the Marawi siege. Kaya sana kung maibigay yung pera na yan, itutok na natin yan sa counter-terrorism (That is also okay with us because we cannot afford to have a repeat of the Marawi siege. Once the fund is there, allocate it for counter-terrorism),” dela Rosa added.

If given a choice on which campaign to prioritize, the PNP chief said he prefers to cater to safety and security, which are the country’s more pressing needs.

“I prefer more the proposal to have it diverted towards the anti-terrorism campaign of the PNP,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to take the lead role in the conduct of the government’s anti-drug operations. (PNA)