Rep. Romeo Acop —Photo from the House of Representatives Sen. Ronald dela Rosa —Senate PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop unleashed on Sunday a withering dressing down of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa for calling the members of the House of Representatives “unprincipled” and “opportunistic.”
“If anyone is the real opportunist, it’s Senator Dela Rosa, who shamelessly used his ties with the former President [Rodrigo Duterte] to rise from [Philippine National Police] chief to senator, leading a bloody drug war that targeted the powerless while shielding the powerful,” Acop, a former PNP general, said in a statement.
Acop, a four-time congressman, explained that the House decided to merge the concurrent probes of four committees into one duly constituted supercommittee to look into Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), illegal drug trade, extrajudicial killings involving drugs and other crimes.
READ: Dela Rosa calls former allies ‘opportunistic’ for drug war stance shift
“We are simply doing our duty. There’s no need to fear the quad committee unless there’s something to hide. It’s becoming too obvious that Senator Dela Rosa is scared,” he said.
“We are here to serve the Filipino people, not to act as pawns in anyone’s political game. Unlike Senator Dela Rosa, our focus is on the truth, and we will not be deterred by threats or accusations,” added Acop.
“Don’t act like a K-9 of the previous administration,” Acop said, addressing the senator.
“I ran and won as a congressman on my own merit, not by clinging to anyone’s coattails. My job is to uncover the truth and ensure accountability, no matter who is implicated,” he added.
‘Farcical Senate probe’
He noted that during the quad committee’s first hearing, former customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban implicated the former president’s son, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, son-in-law Manases Carpio, and former economic adviser Michael Yang in the smuggling of P11 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) hidden in magnetic lifters at the Manila International Container Port in 2018.
He criticized Dela Rosa for failing to uncover such “critical details” during the Senate’s drug probes.
“Senator Dela Rosa’s so-called investigations were a farce. Despite his position, he conveniently ignored the involvement of individuals close to the former President. Who was he protecting?” Acop said, alleging, “Senator Dela Rosa’s loyalty lies not with the truth, but with protecting his own interests and those of his political benefactors.”
Acop is the vice chair of the four panels in the quad committee, but cochairs Robert Ace Barbers, Dan Fernandez and Bienvenido Abante Jr., also reiterated that the inquiry was aimed at “uncovering the truth and upholding justice, not shifting loyalties or political convenience.”
Consistent positions
Barbers, the Surigao del Norte representative who was designated chair of the quad committee, maintained: “My position in the antidrug campaign, in the past and the present, is steadfast and consistent. I openly praise those antidrug law enforcers who do their job well and assail those who commit abuses and wrongdoing in its implementation.”
“As public servants, our job is to abide [by] the Constitution and the rule of law. I never practice blind loyalty to anybody who [dishes] out illegal orders in order to acquire personal gains and maintain power and influence,” he pointed out in response to Dela Rosa’s criticism.
Barbers stressed in Filipino, “There’s no politics here. This is the job. We need to investigate and seek the truth regardless of who is linked to illegal drugs, most of all if they are involved in a huge way.”
Fernandez, the Sta. Rosa City representative, pointed out: “We owe it to the Filipino people to pursue these investigations wherever they may lead. This is not about shifting allegiances, it’s about ensuring that justice is served.”