PNP chief belies gov’t’s insincerity on war vs. illegal drugs

FILE: Ronald dela Rosa (Photo: Philippine National Police/Facebook)

MANILA — Philippine National Police (PNP) Director Gen. Ronald dela Rosa on Friday cried foul over allegations that Malacanang is not serious in its war on illegal drugs following the recent dismissal of criminal charges against self-confessed drug dealer Kerwin Espinosa and businessman Peter Lim.

“Para sa mga nagsasabi na moro-moro itong aming war on drugs, ako po ay nagagalit sa inyo. Moro-moro your face. Kawawa naman yung, on my part, sa PNP, 108 na pulis namin namatay dito, moro-moro pa at ilang tao ang namatay dito. We are dealing with lives, 4,000 plus ang namatay, moro-moro pa rin? (To those who are saying that our war on drugs is ‘moro-moro’, I’m mad at you. ‘Moro-moro’ your face. It’s a pity, on my part, on the PNP — 108 policemen have died in this ‘moro-moro’. We are dealing with lives, 4,000-plus have died and it’s still moro-moro?),” dela Rosa told reporters.

He also said that the first panel of Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors who dismissed the charges filed by the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) should have requested for more evidence.

“(K)ung sa tingin nila mahina, bakit hindi nila kami sinabihan? Hindi ba magsabi, team tayo. We are all under, kahit na separate tayo, the pillar of the criminal justice system. We are still under the Chief Executive, sa executive branch of government (If they thought that the case is weak, why did they not inform us? Just tell us, because we’re a team. Even if we are separate offices, we are all under the pillar of the criminal justice system. We are still under the Chief Executive, the executive branch of government),”dela Rosa said.

He said they are pinning their hopes on the motion for reconsideration filed by the CIDG through Director Roel Obusan before the DOJ, which has formed a new panel to take up the case.

“Sana ma-reconsider. I hope ma-reconsider dahil sayang talaga. Pareho tayo ng damdamin ngayon na lahat tayo ay hindi masaya doon sa naging resolution ng kaso (I hope it would be reconsidered because it’s such a waste. We all feel disappointed with the resoluiton of the case),” the PNP chief said.

Earlier, Solicitor General Jose Calida said he believes the affidavits of Marcelo Adorco, Espinosa’s bodyguard, are sufficient for the determination of probable cause, serving as a witness in the case.

The panel of prosecutors insisted the PNP had a weak case, maintaining that only the inconsistent statements of one of the defendants were used as evidence.