MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa clarified that the filing of charges against a cop who killed his assailant in Manila is based on protocol.
"Well, just to clear your doubt. As a matter of procedure, he has to be charged because someone died. The family of the person who died will really file a complaint," dela Rosa said in Filipino at a press conference in Camp Crame in Quezon City on Monday.
The PNP chief was referring to the case of Police Officer 1 Gester Versoza who shot dead Reynaldo Lee Jr. after he stabbed the cop in Sampaloc, Manila on Saturday.
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Versoza was riding on his motorcycle when Lee rushed at him and stabbed him repeatedly. The rookie cop, however, managed to break away and shoot Lee dead.
Despite the wounds he got, Versoza waited until Lee was rushed to the hospital before he brought himself to the nearest police station.
Versoza was seen in television reports in handcuffs and explained he was forced to retaliate.
Fortunately, every detail of the incident was caught by closed circuit television cameras to support Versoza's defense against a homicide charge.
"To set the record straight, we can see very clearly how he defended himself. I will never let him down. I will not abandon that police officer. I will help him," dela Rosa said, referring to Versoza.
"It's very clear, isn't it? The gun was a last resort because he had been attacked. He was down, right? He was hit," the PNP chief added.
With this, dela Rosa reminded his wards anew to stand their ground against threats.
"As I have said, if you are in an encounter, you should come out alive. Nobody will feed your family if you die. You must survive," dela Rosa said.
Critics of the government's war on drugs have questioned the "nanlaban" (fighting back) narrative on more than 4,000 "drug personalities" killed in police operations since 2016. The PNP has said it investigates the deaths in operations but has been hesitant to share records on the cases.
Solicitor General Jose Calida has asked the Supreme Court to rescind an order to submit records on its operations, saying they have nothing to do with petitions questioning the war on drugs and releasing them has security implications.