On Friday, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez urged Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to resign over the involvement of high-ranking police officials in the death of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.
According to Alvarez, Dela Rosa has to quit his post to spare the president from embarrassment and restore the public’s respect for the office of the PNP chief. This happened after SPO4 Roy Villegas, one of the suspects, admitted in his affidavit that the victim was slain inside the premises of Camp Crame after the abduction in Angeles City, Pampanga.
“The commission of a heinous crime right in his very nose is not only an insult but a clear indication that he has lost the respect of his people,” the House Speaker said expressing a great disappointment at the incident.
What makes this case a huge controversy is that the rogue cops who abducted Jee used the administration’s war on drugs to issue a fake warrant.
“How can we believe the stern statements Dela Rosa had been making against criminals like in the aftermath of the Davao City bombing when he was the first to run in the slightest possibility of danger?” Alvarez said.
Hitting Dela Rosa’s “booboos”, some of which went viral on Youtube and other social media where he was panicking during a press conference “like a headless chicken after the pyrotechnic device he was holding started to smoke.”
He also said that he “seems more interested in having a showbiz career and in landing on society pages of newspapers,” criticizing Dela Rosa’s being everywhere “doing mundane things like singing videoke and watching concerts”.
A week ago, Dela Rosa was at a rock concert in Pasay City and urged the audience to support the government’s war on drugs as he went to the stage and performed with the band.
The PNP chief was also seen watching Bryan Adams’ concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum earlier this week.
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When Dela Rosa confirmed on Thursday that the Korean businessman was killed inside the PNP’s national headquarters, he said he wanted to melt in shame knowing police officers were involved in the crime.
“Very angry. Very offended. Kung pwede matunaw na ako sa kinalalagyan ko sa hiya (If I could only melt in shame from where I am now),” Dela Rosa told reporters at Malacañan on Thursday.
“If I have my way, I would kill the policemen who are kidnappers. But I cannot do it because it’s illegal,” he added.
During the senate probe on the death of Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa in November, the PNP chief cried out of anger and shame.
In almost seven months of his service as the PNP chief, Dela Rosa has been very emotional over cops implicated in illegal activities, especially on the proliferation of illegal drugs.
