Ronald dela Rosa

Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is a senator in the 19th Congress, serving his first term since 2019.

A native of Davao del Sur, Dela Rosa is arguably most well-known for leading the bloody anti-drug campaign of his fellow Davaoeño, former president Rodrigo Duterte. Dela Rosa was then chief of the Philippine National Police, a position he held from July 2016 to April 2018. As PNP chief, Dela Rosa came under fire for human rights violations in the so-called “war on drugs,” which claimed the lives of thousands of Filipinos. He has long-standing ties with Duterte, having served as Davao City police chief when the former president was still mayor.

After Dela Rosa’s mandatory retirement from the PNP, he became director general of the Bureau of Corrections from April to October 2018. He left the BuCor to run for senator in the 2019 elections, where he placed fifth among the 12 winning candidates, with over 19 million votes.

At the Senate, Dela Rosa is pushing for the revival of the death penalty “for those who will import, manufacture, and cultivate illegal drugs”; “substance abuse prevention education for grade school students”; and “strengthening the public health approach” in drug abuse prevention.

Dela Rosa is a member of the Philippine Military Academy’s Sinagtala Class of 1986. He also obtained a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southeastern Philippines in 1998 and a doctorate in development administration from the same university in 2006.