President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said Director General Ronald dela Rosa will stay as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) despite calls for his resignation.
"He stays there. Bato has my complete trust," Duterte told GMA News in an interview before he attended the birthday celebration for Dela Rosa at the PNP's national headquarters in Camp Crame.
Duterte made the statement amid calls for Dela Rosa's resignation, which came after the PNP chief's revelation that South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo was killed inside Camp Crame.
Among those who have called for the PNP chief's resignation was the President's political ally, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Duterte said during the interview that the PNP must identify all of the people behind the abduction and killing of the South Korean businessman.
He also said that he wanted the PNP to identify its members who are involved in such activities, which have been dubbed as "tokhang for ransom."
Dela Rosa meanwhile revealed that, during his birthday celebration in Camp Crame, he had offered the president his resignation.
Duterte however rejected the offer and responded with "padayon," or "keep going."
Outraged
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella assured the public in a statement that there will be no whitewash in kidnap-slay of the South Korean businessman.
"We assure everyone that there will be no whitewash or cover-up," Abella said.
Abella said that Malacañang is "outraged" by Jee's abduction and killing.
"We will not tolerate corrupt, abusive, errant policemen who betray the organization and the men and women in uniform who continue their faithful, dedicated and loyal service to the country," he added.
A number of policemen have been tagged in the kidnap-slay case, including Senior Police Officer 3 Ricky Sta. Isabel and his immediate superior in the PNP-Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, Superintendent Raphael Dumlao.
Sta. Isabel, who surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation last week, has been transferred to the PNP Custodial Center at Camp Crame.
Dumlao, meanwhile, has been placed under restrictive custody at the AIDG office in Camp Crame.
Sta. Isabel, who has claimed innocence and that he was being used as a scapegoat, alleged that Dumlao was the mastermind in Jee's kidnap-slay. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/ALG/DVM, GMA News
SOURCE:GMA NEWS
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