Bato urges PNP to focus on crime, not politics

The Philippine National Police (PNP) should prioritize their duty to protect the public and address the recent wave of kidnappings, instead of implementing politically motivated orders, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa lamented on Wednesday.

Dela Rosa warned that failing to address these crimes would not only tarnish the Philippines' image but also severely impact the economy.

“Remnant man yan ng POGO operations, kung sino man ‘yan, kung may scalawag man diyan, still, it’s kidnapping for ransom pa rin. Nakakasira po ‘yan sa ating imahe at nakakasira sa ating ekonomiya (Even if these are remnants of POGO operations, whoever is involved, if there are any scalawags, it's still kidnapping for ransom. It harms our image and damages our economy),” he said.

Dela Rosa stressed that PNP personnel are lacking focus on their real job.

“Dapat tutukan nila 'yan. Wag na silang mag-focus dito sa mga order sa kanila na may mga political implications. Masyado silang naka-focus dun. Dun sila mag-focus sa kriminalidad. Wala na, 'yung confidence ng tao nasisira kapag ganyan palagi (They should focus on that. They shouldn’t concentrate on orders with political implications. They’re too focused on those. They should focus on addressing criminality instead. If they’re like this all the time, people will lose confidence in them),” he said.

As a former PNP chief, Dela Rosa reminded uniformed personnel not to follow orders “they deem illegal or unconstitutional.”

He made the remark in light of the arrest and surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court — an action he has already questioned before the Supreme Court.

Further, Dela Rosa emphasized that a country's safety isn't solely measured by declining crime statistics, but by the public’s confidence and sense of security.

“The real measure of a country's safety is not merely in the data reflected in a decline in crime rate, but in public perception,” he said, reacting to the PNP’s recent crime rate report which showed an 18.4 percent decline in criminality during the first quarter of 2025.

"Regardless of what figures are you going to show to the public, what is the most important to know is the public perception, how does the public feel as far as safety and security is concerned," Dela Rosa added.

Based on comparative 70-day crime statistics, the PNP reported a decrease in focus crimes, with total incidents dropping to 7,301 from January 12 to March 22, 2025, compared to 8,950 incidents recorded between November 3, 2024, and January 11, 2025.

Among the eight focus crimes in the country are murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, robbery, theft, carnapping of vehicles, and carnapping of motorcycles.

Meanwhile, Dela Rosa urged the administration to “go down to the streets” and ask the people directly if they feel safe roaming around.

“Ask the people. If they feel safe right now with the current situation, then they will give you the direct answer," he said.

"It’s difficult if you rely only on figures, but people are still afraid, right? So you need to go to the people and ask them—do they feel safe? If they do, then that’s good,” he added.

Dela Rosa lamented that statistics mean nothing “if people still feel threatened by the crimes occurring in their communities.”