Bato: No more tears in Senate hearings

Having shed tears as a guest at Senate hearings during his term as police chief, first-time Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Thursday vowed that he would respect resource persons and would not let them experience the same treatment he had received from lawmakers.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Senado forum, Dela Rosa also said he would not call committee hearings just to engage in political grandstanding. He would do so only when necessary, he said.

Dela Rosa has been assigned to head the committees on public order and dangerous drugs, and on peace, unification and reconciliation.

War on drugs

When he still headed the Philippine National Police, Dela Rosa had appeared several times at Senate inquiries into President Duterte’s war on drugs, and had defended the controversial campaign that had been criticized because of its high number of deaths.

He said he had cried because of questions lobbed at him and statements made by other resource persons.

“The lessons I’ve learned now that I’m a senator is, I will never do that—make you cry out of frustration—because [we] are the senators and [we] have contempt powers,” he said.

“I will respect resource persons whenever they are invited at hearings,” he added.

He said he still felt bad up to now about his experience. “Imagine you cried in the Senate and the whole Philippines and the whole world saw it,” he said.

Senator’s treatment

In one hearing, Dela Rosa said he cried because he felt alone in the battle against drugs when one drug suspect claimed to have bribed his trusted police deputy, Jovie Espenido. The suspect later retracted his testimony.

In another Senate appearance, he cried out of anger at how one senator treated him. He declined to name the senator.

“I was angry at [her] refusal to listen to what I am saying, as if we don’t have the right to say something … [as if] our word is wrong, and they are the only ones who are in the right here because they are the senators,” Dela Rosa said.