FILE PHOTO: Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines – Anakbayan condemned Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa for “red tagging” Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel.
The former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) claimed that the congressman had ties with the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
The youth activist organization also called the hearing of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs led by dela Rosa an “affront to academic freedom and the youth’s right to organize.”
“The red-tagging hearings merely seek to beat the youth into submission for its unwavering commitment to serve the people,” Anakbayan said in a statement on Wednesday.
During the Senate panel hearing, dela Rosa vowed to use all available means to pin down Manuel for his supposed involvement in youth “radicalization.”
READ: Dela Rosa vows to expose Kabataan solon’s links with CPP-NPA
The Kabataan Partylist criticized dela Rosa and deemed his behavior as unbecoming of a senator.
“This is not senatorial behavior. This is a waste of Senate resources and an abuse of public funds. No official should use his position in the government to exceed his responsibility and attack the youth and our countrymen who promote justice,” the partylist in Filipino.
Anakbayan likewise called out the senator and questioned the “inconspicuous” timing of the Senate committee hearing because it coincided with the deliberation of the House of Representatives on resolutions urging the Philippine government to cooperate with the “drug war” probe of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Dela Rosa and former President Rodrigo Duterte were named among respondents in the crimes against humanity complaint lodged before the ICC. The charges against the two stemmed from the implementation of Oplan Tokhang, the main campaign against illegal drugs during the administration of Duterte. As PNP chief then, Dela Rosa was the head implementer of the brutal campaign.
READ: Dela Rosa to Hontiveros, drug war critics: File case in PH courts, not ICC
“This serves as a red herring in order to divert the people’s attention,” said Anakbayan, asserting that the senator is visibly trying to make the public look away from the controversy involving him and the ICC.