BY ROGER M. BALANZA

Congratulatory messages are flooding the mobile phone of Police Chief Supeintendent Ronald dela Rosa, the incoming chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) under President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.

Even villagers in Bato in Sta. Cruz town in Davao del Sur where he grew up are proud and on a festive mood with one of their sons picked to lead the country’s 186,000 police force.

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Some of my friends in Bato are saying that my being picked as PNP chief is like winning the Miss Universe title, dela Rosa joked in a May 18 early morning interview with broadcasters Alan Abais and Jun Bersamin on ABS/CBN’s DXAB radio in Davao City.

Dela Rosa, popularly known as “Bato” after his small Sta. Cruz cillage, was the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) chief under Duterte.

Since joining the police force in 1986, dela Rosa served DCPO and the PNP Eleven regional office in various capacities.

He has known Duterte from the first term of the Davao City mayor in 1986 and had stayed in Davao Region assignments since.