Dela Rosa says he’ll attend House hearing on drug war if Duterte attends

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is firm that he would skip the lower chamber’s probe into the previous administration’s bloody drug war.

He said, however, a single factor could force him to appear before the House of Representatives.

“The only thing that can maybe force me to attend the hearing is when [former] President [Rodrigo] Duterte decides to attend the hearing,” dela Rosa said in an interview over ANC on Thursday.

“Nakakahiya naman, he will be the one answering all the questions na dapat ako ang magsasagot, hindi ba?” he added.

(It would be embarrassing if he would be the one answering all the questions that I should be answering, right?)

READ: Duterte, dela Rosa invited to House hearing on drug war deaths 

Meanwhile, in a Kapihan sa Senado forum also on Thursday, dela Rosa explained that his willingness to attend along with Duterte was borne out of love.

“That’s pagmamahal sa tao. Ayaw kong siya lang ang humarap doon na wala ako. Kailangan kasama ako dahil unfair naman sa kanya, ‘no? Siya ang Presidente noon, ako ang chief PNP. I was his implementor on the war on drugs tapos hahayaan ko lang syang humarap doon?” said dela Rosa.

(That’s love for others. I don’t want him to be the only one there without me. I have to be with him because it’s unfair to him, right? He was the President then, and I was the PNP chief. I was his implementor on the war on drugs and then I’ll just let him face it alone?)

Dela Rosa, who was one of those mentioned in the crime against humanity complaint raised before the International Criminal Court, maintained that he is very grateful that his counterparts in the lower chamber are probing the issue.

He said it only goes to show the international community that the country’s criminal justice system is working. — Moss R. Laygo, INQUIRER.net trainee