Dela Rosa defends ‘soft’ treatment of Maricel Soriano in Senate probe

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa defended on Wednesday his handling of actress Maricel Soriano’s participation in a Senate probe on her alleged link to illegal drug activities.

Dela Rosa admitted he was a bit “soft” on the actress after seeing her nervous and scared when she entered the hearing room on Tuesday.

READ: Maricel Soriano on PDEA leaks probe: ‘Nakakakaba, nakakatakot’ 

As chairman of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, the senator is leading the probe on alleged leaked Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) documents that supposedly linked Soriano and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to illegal drugs.

READ: Marcos laughs off ‘leaked’ PDEA report vs him, Maricel Soriano

“Alam mo, kahapon hirap nga akong i-deal siya dahil pagpasok pa lang niya sa hearing e nanginginig at naninigas na… pati mata niya ay nanginginig kaya worried ako. Sinabihan ko nga, relax ka lang, Ma’am,” dela Rosa said in an interview over Radyo 630.

(You know, yesterday I found it difficult to deal with her because as soon as she entered the hearing room, she was trembling and stiff… even her eyes were shaking, so I was worried. I told her, “Just relax, Ma’am.”)

“Kung bobombahin ko pa ng husto ng tanong dun, kung mag collapse dun e… sabihin nIyo heartless na committee ito…”  he added.

(If I bombard her with questions and if she collapses, they would say this committee is heartless…)

Besides, the senator said, he only invited the actress to the hearing in connection with a condominium unit in Makati City which was said to be the subject of casing operations by PDEA agents in March 2012.

Soriano herself admitted during the hearing that she owned the property but said she sold it in 2012.

READ: Maricel Soriano admits owning condo unit linked to alleged drug activities 

According to dela Rosa, he was already satisfied with Soriano’s testimony, saying her admission lends credence to the veracity of the PDEA report.

“Kasi kung hindi sa kanya ‘yun so may question tayo talaga dun sa authenticity ng papel na ‘yun, totoo ba ‘yun? E ‘yun na-established natin na ‘yun talagang kay Maricel Soriano ‘yung unit na ‘yun,”  he said.

(Because if it’s not hers, then we really have questions about the authenticity of that document. Is it true? But we’ve already established that the unit truly belongs to Maricel Soriano.)

The senator added he is certain the actress would deny any involvement in illegal drugs if directly asked during the hearing.

“Sigurado man ako, magde-deny man ‘yan ‘pag tinanong mo kung harap-harapan mong tanungin na gumagamit ba talaga kayo ng cocaine kasama si Pangulong Marcos. Sigurado man ako ide-deny niya ‘yan. What for po pa? What point I am going to prove ‘pag tinanong ko ‘yun?” he said.

(I’m sure, she would deny it if you directly ask her if she’s using cocaine with President Marcos. I’m sure she would deny it. So what for? What point am I going to prove by asking that?)

In a separate interview on the same issue over ANC’s Headstart, dela Rosa explained why he had to bring up the 2011 complaint filed against the actress by her two former housemaids.

He said the issue was “material” to the Senate probe into her alleged drug link.

Dela Rosa mentioned during the hearing that based on reports,  Soriano’s former helpers left her condo unit “because of her alleged cocaine use.”

“Wala po tayong purpose na i-humiliate ‘yung tao. We are here to get to the bottom of it para makuha natin yugn katotohanan,” he stressed.

(It’s not our purpose to humiliate the person. We are here to get to the bottom of it so we can uncover the truth.)

NOTE: The English translations in the article were AI-generated.