Ronald dela Rosa

Ronald Marapon dela Rosa (born January 21, 1962 ), also known as Bato, is a Filipino politician and retired police officer who is currently serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2019.

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 working as a tricycle driver.

The young Dela Rosa worked as a fish market porter and bus conductor.

Dela Rosa is a senator who 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.

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.

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.

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).

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 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.

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.

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, Dela Rosa 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 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).

He served under the Duterte administration as the chief of the Philippine National Police from July 1, 2016, to April 19, 2018, overseeing the government's anti-drug campaign; he also served as the Director General of the Bureau of Corrections from April 30 to October 12, 2018.

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, Dela Rosa's 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, Chief Superintendent 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.