Screenshot of a post by Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña in X.
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa drew castigation from a group of health and medical advocates after he mocked the facial appearance of another lawmaker—a stroke survivor—in a social media post on Saturday.
“Your face looks as though it has been punched, that’s why it’s skewed,” Dela Rosa said in Bisaya. “Come here so I can punch the other side of your face and make it balanced.”
Dela Rosa’s statement appeared as one of the comments under an Inquirer.net social media card on Facebook. The card featured Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña’s remarks on how Vice President Sara Duterte had made light of her impeachment by the House of Representatives on Feb. 5.
READ: House: Lawmakers backing Sara Duterte impeachment now at 240
‘More painful being dumped’
“Senator Bato Dela Rosa’s attack on Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña is not just cruel—it is an insult to the dignity of persons with health conditions,” said a joint statement signed by 31 physicians and advocates, majority of them as part of the umbrella group Epilepsy Awareness Philippines.
“Had he taken even a moment to do his research, he would have known that Rep. Perci is a stroke survivor,” it said, adding:
“Instead, his appalling remarks reinforce harmful stereotypes and deepen the discrimination that people with various health concerns endure every day. Advocates have long fought for a society built on inclusivity, respect, and equal rights, yet Dela Rosa’s actions undermine this progress by reducing a health condition to a mere punchline.”
On Friday, Duterte held a press conference where she tried to belittle the House action, saying “it is more painful being dumped by a boyfriend or a girlfriend than to be impeached by the House of Representatives.”
In reaction, Cendaña, who in December last year signed the first of four impeachment complaints to be filed in the House against the Vice President, issued a statement saying: “I want to tell VP Sara: ‘Sister, this is not about having a lover, but about public accountability and liability.”
It was to this remark that Dela Rosa responded by mocking and taunting Cendaña.
The senator served as Philippine National Police chief under then President Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President’s father, and remained among the Dutertes’ most loyal supporters in Congress.
Last word
As of Saturday, the 48-year-old Akbayan representative was having the last word, wryly praising Dela Rosa for being “so brave (ang tapang).”
“I hope you’re just as brave against China and in facing the ICC (International Criminal Court),” Cendaña said.
It was in reference to Dela Rosa being among the Duterte allies perceived to have remained silent on China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea and his being the past chief enforcer of Duterte’s bloody war on drugs which is now being investigated by the ICC.