Bato dela Rosa admits name-calling is getting on his nerves

Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa admitted Monday that the name-calling he receives from his critics sometimes gets on his nerves.

“Yes [napipikon din ako]. Well 'pag sila magsalita, sila lang talaga ang magaling, hindi kami magaling, mahinang klase kami. We are ready to accept that. Normal lang, tao lang tayo. Medyo napipikon tayo despite sa wala tayong tulog, despite sa pagsusumikap ng pulis natin na malinis 'yung kalsada at maibalik 'yung safety environment sa ating mga mamamayan, normal lang 'yan dahil you cannot please everyone,” Dela Rosa said in a new`s conference after the PNP flag-raising ceremony.

Despite this, he said he still respects his critics.

“Ang importante, ‘yung ordinaryong taumbayan makapagsabi sa akin na masaya sila sa ginagawa namin. Bahala na ang nasa taas kung ano ang sabihin nila. They have their own assessment. We respect their opinion,” he said.

He also assured the public that police personnel are doing everything to keep the streets safe from criminals.

“Pakisabi naman kay Honorable Senator na marami po kaming nahuli na riding in tandem. Marami kaming nahuli. Hindi po natutulog ang pulis ninyo,” he said.

This was in reaction to the statement of Senator Richard Gordon calling Dela Rosa as “Bato-gan” or lazy for failure to solve riding-in-tandem crimes. 

The PNP chief said he is ready to accept the name-calling from his critics as it is part of his job even as he reiterated that he continues to fulfill his duty.

“He can call me whatever names he wants to call me. Kasama ‘yan sa sweldo na tinatanggap namin, ‘yung laitin ka, ‘yung mumurahin ka, ‘yung pagdududahan ka, ‘yung ibu-bull out(sic) ka. Kasama ‘yan sa sweldo namin so I can take whatever name he wants me to assume,” he said.

“He can call me 'Bato-gan'—okay lang sa akin 'yun pero paki-remind siya na 'yung batugan 'pag nagalit, pwede pa maging bato-machine gun, o gusto mo Gatling gun, 'Bato-Gatling gun,'" he added, referring to a manual machine gun.

The PNP public information office promised to provide the media the number of riding in tandem suspects killed or arrested by the police since the Duterte administration was installed.

Dela Rosa said that in the Southern Police District alone, from July 2016 up to present, 53 riding in tandem suspects were arrested while four were killed in 65 police operations conducted. A total of 45 cases have also been filed before the courts. —KG/KVD, GMA News