Gen. Bato retires, urges cadets to follow PMA honor code

April 21, 2018 Community Billboard

FORT DEL PILAR, BAGUIO CITY — Retired Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and Police Director General Ronald M. “Bato” dela Rosa on Monday (March 16) urged the young cadets of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to always follow and abide by the honor code of the premier military institution.
Dela Rosa said the ideals of courage, integrity and loyalty of the academy were instilled in him and guided his career as a police officer. “Just like you, I was once a cadet, a follower of this honor code fortified with the ideals of courage, integrity and loyalty. These ideals armed and carried me to the heights of my career,” Dela Rosa said.
Dela Rosa assumed his post in July 1, 2016 as the 21st PNP chief, prioritizing the elimination of illegal drugs in the country. And as a graduate of PMA and a proud member of the Sinagtala class of 1986, Dela Rosa was conferred with a testimonial parade at the Borromeo field of PMA before his retirement on March 19, 2018.
In his speech, the general said to the cadets that studying in the academy and being instilled with the ideals of courage, integrity and loyalty is a gift. He said only a few are chosen to be fortified with honor code. “Every examinee were given the chance, but only a few were chosen,” Dela Rosa stressed.
After his graduation in 1986, Bato immediately joined the Special Action Force (SAF) in the 11th region as his first assignment. In 1992 he was designated as chief inspector and worked as one of the staff of Police Regional Office -Davao before becoming provincial director of Compostela Valley and director of Davao city police office.
Not known to many Filipinos, Dela Rosa also worked at the Philippine Directorate for Human Resource Doctrine and Development of the PNP as an executive officer before assuming his post as chief of the PNP.
Among the distinguished awards he received as a police officer includes the “Bintang Bhayangkara Utama” or the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for a police officer in Indonesia.
“As I leave the armed forces after 36 years, I am grateful that here you are young cadets ready to be trained and to be molded as officers who will carry the mission of serving our God, our people and our country. May I now urge you to keep in your hearts the ideals if this institution and to always abide to it at all times. If you do this, you can never go wrong in you career,” Dela Rosa stressed.
“I want also to thank the academy for not only molding me but also for helping me to get to where I am now. As I conclude my service as a police officer and public servant there is nothing more important at this point of my career but to set foot once more to where my dreams started, the hallowed ground of PMA,” Dela Rosa added.
The PNP chief and his family were received by Brigadier General Ferdinand M. Cartujano, assistant superintendent of PMA, and Lieutenant Cornell Charles V. Calucag during his testimonial parade. DIONISIO B. DENNIS JR. / ABN