‘Bato’ happy with US official’s positive comments on anti-drug war

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa (Photo: Philippine National Police/Facebook)

MANILA — Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Dir. Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa expressed elation over a senior US State Department official’s expressing “cautiously optimistic” view on the government’s anti-drug campaign.

This was due to the downward trend in extrajudicial killings, US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement James Walsh said in a telephone interview Wednesday.

The American official added that Washington would continue to monitor the human rights situation even as he vowed of continued US support in such areas as “rule of law, drug demand reduction programs, and maritime assistance.”

But Dela Rosa said improvements in the ongoing anti-narcotics were aimed at the betterment of the Filipinos and not to curry favors.

“Hindi man kami nagrereact dahil takot na ma-cut yung aid ng US or aid ng Europe kundi ginagawa namin ito para sa sambayanang Pilipino na kung bina-violate namin rights nila sino nagsusuffer, mga Pilipino tinatamaan sa violation na ginagawa namin,” the PNP chief added.

On Monday, the PNP relaunched its “Oplan Double Barrel” nationwide and succeeded in arresting hundreds of drug suspects nationwide without killing anyone.