MANILA, Philippines – A veteran officer, who was decorated for rejecting a bribe equivalent to $60,000 from a town mayor-turned “drug lord,” is the new chief of the 14,000-strong Metro Manila regional police command.
Chief Superintendent Roberto “Boysie” Rosales assumed the post following the promotion of Deputy Director General Leopoldo Bataoil as the head of the newly created Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Northern Luzon.
Prior to his appointment, Rosales headed the Police District of Manila, one of the 15 cities and one town that comprise Metro Manila whose total population is estimated at 12 million.
Rosales gained prominence when he arrested in the late ’90s Mayor Ramon Mitra of the coastal town of Panulukan, Quezon province in Southern Luzon for attempting to smuggle into the country high-grade shabu.
Based on official PNP records, Rosales, who was then the Quezon police provincial commander, caught Mitra in the act of smuggling the shabu shipment by using an ambulance owned by the Panulukan municipal government
The same records also showed that Mitra was escorting the ambulance by using another government vehicle when he was arrested by Rosales and his men in a checkpoint they had established upon receiving a tip on the drug smuggling.
Rosales later testified in court that to escape arrest, Mitra tried to bribe him $60,000 in cash, which he rejected. Mitra is now serving a long jail term at the national penitentiary in suburban Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila following his conviction by the lower court for drug smuggling.
In taking over the command, Rosales vowed to intensify the campaign against illegal drugs “no matter who gets hurt.”
He also vowed to modernize the command by using new technology to complement the capabilities of the police officers.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1978, Rosales was the third official to assume of Metro Manila’s top cop in six months.
Rosales recalled that under his watch as the Manila police chief, he managed to purchase and use gadgets such as BlackBerry cell phones, handheld radios, desktop computers and surveillance cameras, with the help of like-minded individuals and organizations,
The use of modern equipment and technology, he pointed out, will be the centerpiece of the crime prevention and solution efforts in the metropolis.
In particular, Rosales said he intends to put up more closed circuit television (CCTV) or “spy cameras” all over Metro Manila.
Right now, he said his command has 12 CCTV cameras while the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has 51 similar equipment scattered throughout the metropolis.
Rosales said: “There are many untold stories about the successes we have had with the CCTVs. It helped us solve murders, protection rackets and even vehicular hit-and-run incidents.”
He cited the successes he achieved in fighting crime with the introduction of new gadgets and other innovations that led to a drastic decrease in crime incidence in Manila.
From being the most crime-prone area in Metro Manila, Rosales said Manila became one of the police districts with the lowest crime volume.
The Manila Police District, he said, topped other districts in the regional police command with its 94 percent crime solution efficiency.
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