Former Philippine National Police director and now Bureau of Corrections chief Undersecretary Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa called for continued support from Bohol cops to President Rodrigo Duterte amid the government’s ongoing campaign against criminality and the illegal drug trade.

Dela Rosa, during a speech at the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) grounds in Tagbilaran City on Wednesday, said that Duterte, 73, who is already “old” needed the police’s help in achieving the goal of ridding the country of illegal drugs.

“Ato gyud siyang tabangan, di nato siya pasagdan kay as we have said, tiguwang na siya, looy siya kung ato siyang pasagdan. Di niya kaya,” dela Rosa said.

According to dela Rosa, Duterte trusts cops the most.

“Kita ang pinaka-duol sa kasing-kasing niya, kitang kapolisan. Kay ga-dako mani siya [Duterte] na police ang palibot so pinangga g’yud ta niya,” he said.

The former police chief also urged the local police force to step up efforts to combat illegal drug activities in the province’s towns to eventually attain a “drug-cleared” status.

Dele Rosa said that police themselves also needed help from the community in battling criminality, noting that support can be earned by being “good cops.”

“Kita pud mismo kapolisan di nato kaya kita-kita ra. Kinahanglan g’yud nato ang ayuda sa katilingban. Unsaon nato pagkuha sa ayuda sa katilingban? Pinaagi sa maayong pamatasan. Og maayo ang pulis, suportahan ka sa katilingban. Og salbahis ka nga pulis, di ka suportahan sa katilingban,” he added.

Dela Rosa arrived in Bohol on Tuesday as among invited guests during the celebration of Panglao’s “Hudyaka sa Panglao” festival.

The tough-talking former police chief who has been tasked to rid the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City of illegal drugs has confirmed that he will be running for senator during the midterm elections in 2019.

The NBP which houses convicted drug lords is a known hotbed for narcotics activities.

In Bohol, several arrested drug personalities have claimed to have been getting drug supply from various parts of the country through deals made with NBP inmates.

Dela Rosa admitted that his problem at the NBP was not with drug use inside the facility but with inmates who still control narcotics trade outside the penitentiary. (R. Tutas)