Bato: This is me, I don’t need to change my style

MANILA, Philippines – After lawmakers advise him to be more serious and stop clowning around, Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa insisted that he will not change his style.

Speaking to reporters at Camp Crame, Dela Rosa said on Tuesday he only shows a different side of himself in public.

“Ano mabait ba ako? Wala pa kayong narining na binugbog ko? Wala pa kayong narinig na sinaktan ko? Wala pa kayong narinig na binaril ko? Ganito naman ako, this is me. I don’t need to change my style,” the PNP chief, who is known for his jolly personality, said.

“Akala ni’yo mabait ako sa inyo, mabait ako sa camera. Hindi ni’yo alam kung ano (ang) pinaggagagawa ko kung hindi ko kaharap ang camera,” he added.

Party-list representatives Alfredo Garbin Jr. (Ako Bicol), Sherwin Tugna (CIBAC), Harry Roque (Kabayan) and Benhur Lopez (YACAP) called out Dela Rosa on Monday and told him stop his publicity stunts and instead quietly do his job as his subordinates are losing respect from him.

A “pakenkoy-kenkoy” Dela Rosa should be feared by other cops since he is the head of the PNP, Garbin said.

On Friday, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez also hit Dela Rosa for his “booboos” and accused him of being more interested in having a showbiz career.  He called on the PNP chief to resign, a call that he withdrew after attending the police chief's birthday party on Sunday. He now says Dela Rosa should be given a second chance.

Dela Rosa was in hot water after it was found that the Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo was abducted and later killed by police inside the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame in Quezon City.