“Wait until I become President; I will quadruple your salary.”

This was Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s promise to the police retirees after some of them complained of being left out of the Duterte administration’s salary increase program for the police force.

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“Kung ako masunod, triple. Sabihan niyo mga retirees, ‘Hintayin niyo maging Presidente si Bato.’ Gagawin kong quadruple mga sweldo niyo,” Dela Rosa said during the weekly flag raising ceremony at Camp Crame on Monday.

Dela Rosa belied the claims of some retirees that he submitted a position paper to Malacañang agreeing to a proposal that retirees would not be entitled to a pay increase due to the government’s meager resources.

“Specific talaga eh: ‘Mga retiree pinabayaan na ni Bato!’ Si Bato ay nagpalabas ng opinion, ‘yung sinasabi sa DBM (Department of Budget and Management) na hinihingian tayo ng proposal. Nag-submit daw tayo ng position paper sa Malacañang na ang tenor is pumabor daw ako na hindi isama yung mga retiree sa increase next year,” Dela Rosa said.

He said that contrary to some retirees’ claims, he had not submitted a position paper yet.

He said he understood that the retirees can get “sensitive” at some issues. Dela Rosa urged other police officers to talk to the retirees and explain to them that the pay increase was still being worked on.

“It’s not true. Naiintindihan naman natin na ‘yung mga retiree natin matatanda na, matampuhin. Please reach out to them, I highly respect them,” he said.

The police chief stressed that the PNP’s hands were tied because it was only relying on the policies of Malacañang and the budget department.

“We are still at the mercy of the policies being crafted by Malacañang. Kung sabihin ng DBM na wala talagang pera hindi kakayanin kaya hindi muna kayo sasama at walang indexation, anong magagawa ng PNP ‘di ba?” he said. /cbb

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