No regrets

The striking thing about the principal players in the war on drugs is their lack of remorse.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte, facing the Senate and later the quad committee of the House of Representatives, said he would do it again, if given the chance. 

His chief enforcer, cop-turned-senator Ronald dela Rosa, also has no regrets, whether in the drug war or in his life.

In an hour-long talk with The Philippine STAR’s “Truth on the Line” last Friday, Bato dela Rosa modified his previous statements when I asked if, in hindsight, he would have done anything differently in the crackdown on illegal drugs.

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Dela Rosa had previously said he would have cleaned up the Philippine National Police first, to reduce the chances of abuses. 

This time, he said the PNP housecleaning pre-Oplan Tokhang was not possible because they were pressed for time. Duterte had promised in his campaign that he would eradicate the drug menace within six months of becoming president. They had to hit the ground running, Dela Rosa said.

Could Tokhang, of which he is the architect, have been implemented differently, with some consideration for human rights?

Dela Rosa echoed what Duterte has been saying about fighting this scourge: you can’t play nice with drug dealers; killings and armed encounters are inevitable. 

Duterte had previously denied that there was a cash reward system and quotas set for drug kills, as claimed by former police officials including Royina Garma. The cash reward, reportedly administered by resigned National Police Commission official and ex-cop Edilberto Leonardo with Sen. Bong Go as the paymaster, is seen to be the reason for the unusually high number of people killed, mostly impoverished folks, on mere suspicion of involvement in illegal drugs. 

Go has denied the story, and Dela Rosa has said he is unaware of such a reward system. Both he and Duterte have explained that money is given to police units for operational expenses, and any excess is usually given as a bonus especially if the neutralized drug suspect is a so-called high-value target.

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Dela Rosa shook his head and brushed off accusations that major drug dealers were killed during the previous administration so that the Duterte camp could monopolize the hugely lucrative illegal drug trade.

He said Duterte had instructed him to kill his own son Paolo and former economic adviser Michael Yang – “patayin mo ang mga iyan” – if the rumors about their alleged drug trafficking activities were verified.

Dela Rosa gave a lengthy rebuttal of the House testimony of businessman Mark Taguba linking Paolo Duterte to a so-called Davao Group that allegedly engaged in large-scale drug smuggling in the previous administration. The House now has custody of Taguba, taking him from the New Bilibid Prison where he was serving a life term for drug importation.

Duterte has faced the quad comm, but Dela Rosa is standing firm on his refusal to face the House probe, insisting that it is just a partisan exercise.

But doesn’t he think the quad as well as the panel on good government, which is scrutinizing the confidential fund utilization by the Office of the Vice President, have unearthed valid issues about abuses in the drug war and anomalies involving VP Sara Duterte?

The OVP fund utilization probe is best left to state auditors, Dela Rosa said, echoing the position of the Duterte camp.

As for the drug war, Dela Rosa said he would cooperate in a probe being conducted by the Department of Justice for possible crimes against humanity. This is the first time that the DOJ is pursuing a possible violation of Republic Act 9851, the 2009 law governing genocide and crimes against humanity, instead of merely treating the thousands of drug killings as separate cases.    

Like Duterte, however, Dela Rosa remains firm in refusing to cooperate with the International Criminal Court. Asked about reports that certain PNP members have started talking to the ICC, Dela Rosa shrugged it off, saying he couldn’t stop anyone from doing so.

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He says the drug menace is resurging, thanks to the approach of the Marcos administration. 

I have actually heard the same assessment from law enforcement officials who are in the good graces of the current administration. Because of the ongoing probes, cops have become reluctant to go after drug suspects, the officials told me recently. The PNP prefers to toss the problem to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, which by law is mandated to be the lead agency in battling the drug menace. But even the PDEA has become gun-shy in pursuing its mandate, the officials said. 

But isn’t a kinder, gentler, more humane middle ground in fighting illegal drugs possible?

Dela Rosa pointed out that cops merely follow their superiors who in turn implement the drug policy of the president.  

He didn’t deny it when I cited observations that a kill culture has become entrenched in the PNP.

Can this culture be eradicated? The answers of the architect of Tokhang indicate the complexity of this task. 

“Believe me,” he said with passion, when you battle the illegal drug scourge, violence and deaths are inevitable.

If we want a professional PNP, he said it must be fully de-politicized, with PNP members deciding among themselves assignments, appointments and promotions. To a certain extent, this has been done in the military. But in the PNP, resistance to change is strong, especially from local government executives who want the local police to serve as their private army. He said a bill he filed to keep politicians’ paws off the PNP got no support from the Senate.

Dela Rosa acknowledges that he himself is beholden to a political clan, the Dutertes. He is where he is today, he said, because of Rodrigo Duterte.

I asked him if, like Duterte, he had also killed people. Yes, Dela Rosa replied, almost with pride, he has killed many; he said I could ask Davao residents about the kills. But he stressed that his kills were all in the course of law enforcement and not “salvaging” or summary executions.

I’ve always wondered if killers are haunted by the ghosts of those they kill. What was it like, I asked Dela Rosa, the first time he killed a person? Was it scary?

“It was exciting,” he replied, with a wistful glint in his eye.