Lawmakers urge Bato Dela Rosa to own up to EJKs as police chief

MANILA, Philippines — House lawmakers on Monday, September 23, called on Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, the former police chief who led the war on drugs, to take responsibility for the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the Duterte administration. 

In a statement, Rep. Paolo Ortega (La Union, 1st District) said that Dela Rosa should own up to his responsibility as the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) chief from 2016 to 2018 and stop pointing fingers at his subordinates. 

“It’s the height of cowardice. Don’t pass the blame to your subordinates. It all boils down to command responsibility. They were just following orders from the higher-ups, which happens to be the PNP under his leadership,” Ortega said.  

The lawmaker added that it is “obviously inevitable” for Dela Rosa to face the consequences of his leadership during the drug war after policemen put their lives on the line following his orders. 

“It is unjust for Senator Bato to now distance himself and let them face the consequences alone. If there is anybody who should face this head on, it is their commander, not just the officers,” Ortega said. 

Rep. Ernix Dionisio (Manila, 1st District) agreed with Ortega, his fellow "young gun" in the lower chamber, saying that Dela Rosa should not “simply wash his hands off the bloodshed” after thousands were killed in the former president’s drug war. 

Human rights groups have estimated that the death toll from the drug war has reached 30,000, factoring in unreported cases.

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno recently revealed in the House quadcom's probe into the drug-related EJKs that the Office of the President has an accomplishment report citing 20,322 drug war-related deaths from July 2016 to Novemeber 2017.

What did Dela Rosa say?

Developments in the House quadcom’s investigation have suggested Dela Rosa’s involvement in pushing former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog and his family to flee the country in 2017 after Mabilog faced threats following his sudden inclusion in the president’s drug list in 2016.

This is despite the fact that no drug-related cases exist against Mabilog. 

RELATED: Here's why ex-mayor Mabilog left the Philippines in 2017

A day after Mabilog shared his experience with lawmakers, the former police chief said that Mabilog’s testimony is “baseless” and only part of the quadcom’s “demolition job” against him, Vice President Sara Duterte and former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Demolition job [ito] para masira kaming lahat at hihina si VP Sara sa 2028. … Fishing expedition, paghahanap ng mga kasalanan ni Duterte at kanyang mga associates,” Dela Rosa said.

He also pressed Mabilog to identify the general who warned him not to return to the Philippines because of a plot that would force him to name former senators Frank Drilon and Mar Roxas as drug lords. 

However, in an interview with "Teleradyo Serbisyo" on September 21, Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. (Manila, 6th District) revealed that the general, former PNP chief Camilo Casocolan, already died in 2023.

Dela Rosa denied that he played a role in plotting against Drilon and Roxas to link them to illegal drug operations.

"I never have any information and I have no basis to link him and then it’s not my habit to link them. Why do I implicate people? There is nothing like that, I have no such intention," he said.

House lawmakers said that Dela Rosa should explain before the International Criminal Court (ICC) what he knows about the extrajudicial killings, since he is the architect who implemented the Project Double Barrel operationalizing Oplan Tokhang.

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor has identified Dela Rosa as one of the suspects in the court’s investigation on alleged crimes against humanity during Duterte’s administration.