Bato asks for more time to submit drug war reports

Outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Wednesday said he has signed a letter to the Office of the Solicitor General, asking it to request for more time to submit reports and documents on the drug war to the Supreme Court (SC).

Dela Rosa said the PNP was "not yet ready" and was still in the process of preparing the documents.

"Kanina lang ano, before I left my office, I signed a document requesting the Solicitor General to request the Supreme Court na bigyan kami ng extension dahil nga very voluminous 'yung dokumento na ipe-prepare namin para diyan. So ni-re-raview din namin," Dela Rosa said on News To Go.

On April 3, SC spokesman Theodore Te said the high court has directed the government, including the PNP chief, to turn in the reports within a period of 15 days from notice.

Dela Rosa also said he will follow President Rodrigo Duterte's final decision when it comes to submitting the paperwork, pointing out that he and the agency are under the executive branch of government.

"Humihingi kami ng extension but then again, even though we are prepared, ako ha, that's my standpoint, even though prepared na kami lahat, kapag sinabi ni President na huwag mong ibigay... kung ako pa ang Chief PNP, hindi ko pa rin talaga ibibigay," Dela Rosa said.

The 15-day deadline came after the SC denied Solicitor General Jose Calida's motion to reconsider the high court's December 2017 order calling on the PNP to submit official reports on the drug war.

Calida had argued that submitting the said documents would compromise police operations and informants' safety—a claim that the Supreme Court said was "ridiculous."

Earlier, in a separate interview, Bato stated that he will readily face any charges in relation to the government’s war on drugs.

The remark came after the Human Rights Watch released a report saying the anti-illegal campaign has “targeted mainly urban slum dwellers and resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 men, women, and children by police and police-backed vigilantes.”

The report written by HRW researcher Carlos Conde had emphasized that  Dela Rosa “will leave behind a police force with a sordid human rights record unmatched since the Marcos dictatorship.” — Margaret Claire Layug/BM, GMA News