

“If you are with me, then let’s do it, but if you are not with me, then you are finished.”ĭela Rosa’s advantage comes from his being former chief of the PNP. What made him so successful so far in running the race? It’s not only coincidence. In the latest survey covering April 2019, he got 36.7% – still above the comfortable 30% mark needed to win.

He reached his highest score in March 2019 with 44.8%, months after the release of his biopic where Duterte-pardoned actor Robin Padilla acted as him. But then he bounced back in December to 35.7% after locking in a decision to run for the Senate. In September 2018, Dela Rosa landed in the red zone with 27% after he announced that he was planning to run for governor of his Davao del Sur. On the day he bowed out of service in April 2018, he was showered with praise by Duterte, calling him the embodiment of “ unprecedented accomplishments.” Months later in June 2018, his rating rose to 37.7%, as he was transitioning to the BuCor. He had not signified any intentions to run, and yet he took over in the rankings legacy names such as Estrada, Marcos, Aquino, Ejercito.ĭela Rosa jumped into the senatorial race, holding on to a steady post in the winning circle, save for a survey period where he dropped out of the top after announcing plans of running for a different post. At that point, he was itching to retire in January 2018, describing in multiple occasions that he wanted to go back to his home province of Davao del Sur so he could just row a boat alone out to the sea and fish.īut President Rodrigo Duterte had other plans for him.ĭela Rosa was extended in the PNP for 3 months, then called to head the government’s “most difficult agency”, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), upon his retirement.ĭuring his last month in the police service, polling firm Pulse Asia found in its survey for senatorial bets in March 2018 that Dela Rosa garnered 33.1% – for Senate aspirants, a safe score for victory. Barely out of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Dela Rosa was toiling as the country’s top cop, leading the administration’s bloody campaign on drugs for over a year-and-a-half already.

MANILA, Philippines – Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was stuck in a difficult place.
