Reelectionist Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa reminded the Philippine National Police (PNP) to focus on protecting the people and addressing the recent spate of kidnappings in the country.

Dela Rosa said the PNP ought to prioritize these crimes instead of implementing orders that are politically motivated, warning that if left unaddressed, it would damage the Philippines’ image in the international community and affect the economy.

The senator said whether the recent kidnapping incident was a “remnant of POGO operations,” since President Marcos has officially banned the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the PNP should be on its toes on kidnap-for-ransom activities by scalawags.

“Remnant man yan ng POGO operations, kung sino man ‘yan, kung may scalawag man diyan, still, it’s kidnapping for ransom pa rin. Nakakasira po ‘yan sa ating imahe at nakakasira sa ating ekonomiya (Whether it's a remnant of POGO operations, whoever it is, whether there's a scalawag involved, it's still kidnapping for ransom. That's damaging to our image and damaging to our economy)," the lawmaker said.

Dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, lamented that the police force “lack focus on their work.”

"Kulang sila sa focus sa kanilang trabaho. Dapat tutukan nila 'yan. Wag na silang mag-focus dito sa mga order sa kanila na may mga political implications. Masyado silang naka-focus dun. Dun sila mag-focus sa kriminalidad. Wala na, 'yung confidence ng tao nasisira kapag ganyan palagi (They lack focus on their work. They should focus on that. They should stop focusing on their orders that have political implications. They are too focused on that. They should focus on criminality. No more, people's confidence is destroyed when it's like that all the time)," the senator said.

Earlier, Dela Rosa scored the PNP leadership over the arrest and surrender of former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court, reminding uniformed personnel not to follow orders that they deem illegal and unconstitutional.

Dela Rosa, the chief implementer of the Duterte administration’s brutal war on drugs, had questioned the PNP and Malacañang’s actions against Duterte before the Supreme Court.