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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'I swear to God': No monetary reward given to drug war accomplishments, Dela Rosa says

'I swear to God': No monetary reward given to drug war accomplishments, Dela Rosa says

Published Aug 30, 2024 07:48 am

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa said on Friday, Aug. 30, that he never gave any "monetary consideration or reward" for any accomplishments of the Philippine National Police (PNP) concerning the previous administration's drug war.

Bato dela Rosa.jpg
(MB file photo)

"Unang-una (First of all), I swear to God, I never give any monetary consideration, any monetary reward for any accomplishment na magagawa ng PNP lalo na yung sinasabi nila na kung sinong mapatay doon sa nasa narco list ng Malacañang ay binibigyan natin ng premyo (that the PNP did especially giving rewards for killing anyone under the narco list of Malacañang)," he said in a telephone interview.

"I never do that at hindi ako nagse-set ng quota. Hindi ako nagseset ng quota for accomplishments sa ating kapulisan, ang sa akin lang meron akong directorate for operations na nagmo-monitor sa kanilang mga accomplishments (I never do that, I never set a quota. I never set a quota for the police's accomplishments, but I do have a directorate for operations who monitors their accomplishments)," he added.

He said that during that time, if their accomplishments were subpar, they get replaced.

Dela Rosa was the head of the PNP when former president Rodrigo Duterte launched his bloody war on drugs in June 2016.

During a quad-comm hearing last Wednesday, Aug. 28, Police Colonel Jovie Espenido claimed a reward system for drug war kills, with each kill fetching P20,000.

Espenido said that intelligence funds and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) money were used in the drug war. The former Albuera, Leyte and Ozamiz City Misamis Occidental police chief also implicated Senator Christopher "Bong" Go.

Scripted affidavit

Dela Rosa belied Espenido's claim that funds came in from POGOs, stating that his affidavit is clearly designed to merely connect it to the drug war and the so-called extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during that time.

"At yung sinasabi nila ang reward money daw nanggagaling sa POGO, halata na yung affidavit Espenido talagang concocted, designed scripted  para talagang i-connect connect yung problema sa POGO, problema sa war on drugs, problema sa EJK-kuno (The fact that he claims that the supposed reward money came from POGOs, obviously shows that Espenido's affidavit was concocted and designed to connect the problems on POGOs, war on drugs, and the so-called EJKs)," he said.

"Kasi 2016 pag-assign ko sa kaniya doon never pa man ma-heard ang pangalan na POGO, hindi pa man yan sikat noon, ako mismo ignorante kung ano ‘yang POGO, at that time, so bakit ngayon iko-connect niya yan doon? (Because in 2016 when I assigned him I've never of POGOs yet, it's not even known yet, I'm personally ignorant about POGOs at that time, so why is he connecting it there?)" he added.

A co-chairman of the quad-comm, Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante, said it would be better if Dela Rosa would just honor the invites previously sent to him by House members.

When asked if would attend if invited, Dela Rosa said: "No, I maintain that I don't want to be the precedence in violating the interparliamentary courtesy of both houses of Congress."

Related Tags

Philippine National Police (PNP) Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) War on drugs
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