Filipino politician and retired police general (born 1962)
Ronald Marapon dela Rosa (born January 21, 1962), known by his nickname Bato, is a Filipino politician and retired police officer who is currently serving as a Senator since 2019. He served under the Duterte administration as the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from July 1, 2016 to April 19, 2018, overseeing the government's anti-drug campaign. He also served as Director General of the Bureau of Corrections from April 30 to October 12, 2018.
Early life and education.
Ronald Marapon dela Rosa was born on January 21, 1962, at Barangay Bato, Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, to Teodoro Diamaton dela Rosa Sr. and Anesia Cruspero Marapon. His family was "dirt poor" as his father earned little money from his job as a tricycle driver. He was young when he worked as a fish market porter and bus conductor.
Dela Rosa went to Mindanao State University (MSU) to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration. In 1982, he left MSU to join the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and graduated in 1986 as part of PMA "Sinagtala" class. He then earned a Master of Public Administration degree in 1998 and a Ph.D. in development administration in 2006 from the University of Southeastern Philippines in Davao City.
Dela Rosa completed a Scout Ranger Orientation Course, Police Intelligence Officer Advance Course, Police Officers' Comptrollership Course, and the Police Safety Officer Course. He also attended training courses of the FBI Academy and U.S. Army Ranger School in the United States, and Air Marshal Instructors Course by the Australian Federal Police.
Dela Rosa was nicknamed "Bato" during his first assignment in Davao, when his upperclassmen likened his body to a rock.
Police career.
Early career (1986–2012).
Dela Rosa joined the police force in 1986 as a Lieutenant of the now-defunct Philippine Constabulary in Davao City. In 1992, he was designated as Chief Inspector and worked as one of the staff at Police Regional Office (PRO)-Davao. In 1997, he was designated as police provincial director of Compostela Valley.
In 1999, he was assigned to the office of the Police Director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) at Camp Crame in Quezon City. In 2001, he returned to PRO-Davao and continued his service as deputy chief of the Office of the Regional Personnel and Human Resource and Development Division (ORPHRDD) of Region XI. In 2003, he was promoted to Police Superintendent and was assigned to Camp Catitipan in Davao City. He was then transferred to the Directorate for Human Resources Doctrine and Development as head of training. In 2005, he was assigned to the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) as a city personnel officer. After eight months, he was transferred back to PRO-Davao and was promoted as chief of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division (RIID). In 2007, he became the director of the Compostela Valley Provincial Police Office (CVPPO) as its police chief. In 2008, he was promoted to a rank of Senior Superintendent. In 2009, he was moved to Davao del Sur where he served as director of the Davao del Sur Provincial Police Office (DSPPO). In 2011, he became the chief of the Regional Logistics and Research Development Division (RL-RDD) in PRO-Davao. In 2012, he was assigned to Davao City as the new director of the Davao City Police Office.
Davao City Police Office Chief (2012–2013).
Dela Rosa served as the chief of the Davao City Police Office from January 2012 to October 2013 under Mayors Sara Duterte (in office: June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2013) and Rodrigo Duterte (in office: June 30, 2013 – June 30, 2016). In 2012, he led the crackdown on the carnapping syndicate allegedly masterminded by Ryan "Baktin" Yu. In July 2013, he headed the successful rescue of the kidnapped Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Sally Chua. He also directed the implementation of "Oplan Tokhang" (Cebuano portmanteau for "tuktok", "knock", and "hangyo", "persuade"), a campaign against illegal drugs where the police literally knock on the doors of suspected drug users and distributors and persuade them to cease their illegal activities; and "Oplan Pakgang", (Cebuano portmanteau for “"Pitulon ang Kabatan-onan sa Gang"”, “Disciplining Youths in Gangs”) where the police, through a series of lectures and discussions, discouraged Davao City's youth from joining criminal gangs and other illegal activities.
Camp Crame (2013–2016).
After serving as Davao City Police Chief, Dela Rosa was assigned to the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police in Camp Crame where he worked for the PNP Intelligence Group from October 2013 to December 2014. In 2015, he became a member of the PNP Board of Inquiry which investigated the Mamasapano clash that claimed the lives of 44 Special Action Force commandos, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members and five civilians while the cops were on a mission to arrest international terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir, alias Marwan. Dela Rosa also served as the executive officer of the Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development (HRDD).
A few days before the May 9, 2016 Philippine general election, Dela Rosa was relieved as brigade commander of the Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF) of the Philippine National Police allegedly due to his Facebook posts seen to be in favour of then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte. However, his commanding officer at that time, PNP deputy chief for operations Deputy Director-General Danilo Constantino, denied that Dela Rosa's Facebook posts were the main reasons why he was relieved of his duty. According to Constantino, Dela Rosa was relieved from the Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF) so that he could focus on his responsibilities as executive officer of the PNP Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development (HRDD). Nonetheless, Constantino stated that the PNP Internal Affairs Service will investigate Dela Rosa's Facebook posts for possible administrative liabilities as the officers of the Philippine National Police are required to be neutral and apolitical during the elections.
On August 25, 2016, the newly appointed Chief of the National Police stated “You know who these drug lords are. Do you want to kill them? Kill them. It’s okay because you're the victim here.” “If you want, you know who these drug lords are. Go to their houses. Pour gasoline in their houses, set it on fire. Show them you’re angry".
Rise to prominence as head police chief and BuCor director (2016–2018).
Dela Rosa was handpicked by then presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte as the new PNP Chief on May 19, 2016. On July 1, 2016, he was officially sworn in as the 21st chief of the Philippine National Police while being promoted to Director-General, the highest-ranked PNP officer. Amid Vice President Leni Robredo's criticisms of the Duterte administration's war on drugs, in October 2017, Dela Rosa said Robredo should set aside her alleged political ambitions to become president and advised her to "help Duterte first". Dela Rosa was set to retire on January 21, 2018, due to the mandatory retirement at age 56, but his term was extended for 3 months until April 21, 2018.
During his stint as PNP chief, Dela Rosa made the headlines regularly as he led the controversial drug war and "Oplan Tokhang" operations throughout the country. Several groups including human rights groups and religious leaders strongly objected Dela Rosa and President Duterte's initiatives. The controversy has been widely condemned for the number of deaths resulting from police operations and allegations of systematic extrajudicial executions including planting fabricated evidence to make it appear a suspected drug personality has possession of drugs and resisting arrest from authorities. The drug-related killings reached up to the United Nations Human Rights Council as it caused a death toll total of 12,000 according to reports of news organizations and human rights groups. In 2019, during his campaign, Dela Rosa took pride of it as it lessened the crime rate and resulted in millions of drug personalities surrendering to the authorities.
In May 2018, Dela Rosa was appointed as Director General of the Bureau of Corrections. He held the post from April 30, 2018, until October 12, 2018.
Political career.
Senator (2019–present).
18th Congress.
Dela Rosa placed a bid for a Senate seat and won placing fifth overall, garnering 19 million votes in the 2019 Philippine Senate election. Dela Rosa took office on June 30, 2019. Dela Rosa Chaired the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.
In August 2019, Dela Rosa caused controversy when he said in an interview that convicted rapist-murderer and former Calauan mayor Antonio Sanchez "deserves a second chance"; Dela Rosa said that "if it is determined by the Board of Pardons and Parole that he deserves that commutation, then why not? He deserves a second chance in life." Dela Rosa was highlighted in the news when he got angry at a student leader who raised the issue of what Dela Rosa said regarding Sanchez' possible release while at a Senate hearing on bringing back the mandatory ROTC for senior high school students; Dela Rosa said that the student's criticism was "irrelevant to the topic that was being discussed" during the session.
Despite some issues that were raised against him, Dela Rosa remained productive in his first months in office, filing numerous bills including bringing back capital punishment to the country—specifically for drug traffickers—which is yet to be passed. Among the initial bills he prioritised were an act regulating the use of government ambulances, the Department of Overseas Filipino Act, police scholarships for qualifying students in all barangays, establishing crisis centre for street children in every region in the Philippines, the creation of Barangay Community Peace and Order Council, and the job training for mature or older workers.
In June 2021, Dela Rosa sponsored the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Modernization Bill in the plenary for the Senate to be ratified. The amendment, which Dela Rosa has inserted without authorization, would allow BFP personnel to carry short firearms during fire emergencies and disasters, provided that training will be undertaken with the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police. Dela Rosa said only 2,282 out the total 30,290 BFP personnel would be allowed to carry short firearms to protect their colleagues. He explained in Filipino, "...the usual complaint of our firefighters, that during fire incidents, there are people who try to take away their water hoses. Sometimes, there are firefighters who get stabbed because there are people who want their houses to be saved from the fire first." Some senators declined to ratify the reform but were outvoted; President Rodrigo Duterte signed the bill into law in September 2021.
Dela Rosa voted in favor of a law signed in September 2021 by President Duterte that imposed additional taxes on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
2022 presidential campaign.
On October 8, 2021, the PDP–Laban faction supported by President Duterte announced dela Rosa as their candidate for president of the Philippines in the 2022 election, the same day dela Rosa filed his certificate of candidacy before the Commission on Elections. However, on November 13, 2021, the same day that Sara Duterte filed her candidacy as the running mate of Bongbong Marcos, dela Rosa withdrew his candidacy as per party's decision.
19th Congress.
Upon the opening of the 19th Congress in July 2022, Dela Rosa filed his priority bills, which included the institutionalization of the government's anti-communist insurgency task force; the reimposition of the death penalty for convicted large-scale drug traffickers; the mandating of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in higher education and technical-vocational institutions; and the amendment of the Party-list System Act to disallow party-lists linked with terrorist organizations from joining Congress.
In an effort to decongest prisons, Dela Rosa filed a bill decriminalizing illegal drug use—excluding illegal drug pushing, manufacturing, and trafficking—and automatically sending drug users to rehabilitation centers. He was discouraged by strong opposition from law enforcement agencies overt his proposal.
In September 2023, Dela Rosa along with Senator Risa Hontiveros led a senate probe against the Socorro Bayanihan Services for allegations of being a cult and abuse.
After illegal activities of POGOs were exposed in 2022, Dela Rosa suggested a ban may be a possible solution; a year later, he recommended the creation of a dedicated zone for POGOs, where the gambling corporations are restricted to operate. In 2024, a House quadruple committee investigation into the possible links of POGOs to the illegal drug trade and other crimes prompted Dela Rosa to remark that questioning the illegal activities of POGOS was "unnecessary"; Dela Rosa alleged that the House was plotting to implicate him and