MANILA, Philippines – He talks tough when vowing to crush criminals, disciplining rogue cops, or making demands on the 160,000-strong Philippine National Police (PNP).

But when it’s time to talk about his son, PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa is anything but a toughie.

“Kinakabahan kung kakayanin ba niya (I feel nervous over whether he can handle it or not). I wish him good luck. [I feel] proud, proud,” Dela Rosa said on Thursday, March 23, during a news conference to present the top graduates of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) “Masidlak” Class of 2017.

Dela Rosa was asked about his only son, Rock, who is set to the enter the academy this year. The PNPA is where the PNP, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Bureau of Fire Protection source a huge chunk of their commissioned officers.

“Rock” dela Rosa took the PNPA Cadet Admission Test last year and passed.

“Pero bilang ama, kinakabahan din. Makakaya ba niya training? Physically, alam ko kayang-kaya niya malakas ‘yun e. Pero ‘yung psychological, I don’t know. Iba siya. Iba ako,” added Dela Rosa, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1986.

(As a father, I feel nervous too. Can he handle the training? Physically, I know he can because he’s strong. But the psychological side, I don’t know. He’s different. I’m different.)

“Ako, anak ako ng tricycle driver kaya no retreat, no surrender ako. Papasok [ako] doon – kahit na babagsakan mo ako ng shot put sa tiyan ko, hindi ako uuwi ng Davao. Pero siya, anak siya ng chief PNP kaya iba na rin ‘yung psychological
kuwan niya. Medyo kuwan lang ako, apprehensive, but anyway, pabayaan ko siya kung ano gusto niya sa buhay,” added Dela Rosa.

(I am the son of tricycle driver so it’s no retreat, no surrender in my case. I stayed in the PMA – even if they dropped a shot put on my stomach, I did not go back home to Davao. But he’s the son of a PNP chief, so his psychology might be different. I’m a little apprehensive but anyway, I’ll let him pursue what he wants in life.)

Dela Rosa is retiring in January 2018 yet. That means he will be PNP chief for at least half a year more when his only son with wife Nancy, enters the academy.

The PNPA is not under the PNP. – Rappler.com