Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Friday criticized certain members of the House of Representatives, labeling them as “opportunistic” for shifting their stance on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. According to Dela Rosa, these lawmakers once praised the drug war but changed their views after a new administration took over.
While acknowledging that politics can play a role in such shifts, Dela Rosa expressed disappointment in what he described as a loss of principles among some legislators.
“Nakakalungkot isipin. Kung gaano kabilis noon, they are singing ‘hallelujah’ to us (It saddens me. Before, they were fast to sing ‘hallelujah’ to us), ‘thank you for drug war, thank you for the peace and order, thank you for the tranquility, thank you for keeping the streets safe from the drug menace, thank you and thank you,’ bow and bow,” Dela Rosa told reporters in a virtual interview.
Dela Rosa, who led the Philippine National Police (PNP) during Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, lamented, “Ngayon, you are the villain. ‘Bakit kayo nag-conduct ng war on drugs…? Mali ang ginawa ninyo. Ganun kabilis magbago ang tao (Now you are the villain. ‘Why did you conduct the war on drugs…? What you did was wrong. That’s how fast people can change).”
He went on to say, “For those who are so fast in changing their stand, in changing their views and changing their everything, all I can say is that these people are so opportunistic. They forget their principles.”
Dela Rosa emphasized that he wasn’t generalizing all congressmen, pointing out that some lawmakers remain silent to avoid upsetting the House leadership or the majority bloc.
His comments came in light of the ongoing House investigation into the alleged connections between Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) linked to Duterte’s war on drugs.
Dela Rosa described the investigations into EJKs and the drug war as “very redundant,” noting that the same testimonies and claims are being repeated, yet no cases have been filed in court.
“We are wondering why binuhay na naman nila. Kaya nga that even emboldened us, together with [former] President Duterte, not to attend dahil paulit-ulit na lang ‘yan. The same people tinatanong. Same answer ang sinasabi and yet wala naman silang nakasuhan. Noon pa ‘yan, pabalik-balik na,” he said.
(We are wondering why they brought this up again. This has even emboldened us, together with former President Duterte, not to attend because the same issues are discussed over and over. The same answers are provided, yet they have not filed charges against anyone. This has been going on for a while now.)
Dela Rosa added that the ongoing POGO investigation is being unnecessarily linked to EJKs and the drug war. “Let them conduct their investigation. I’m not criticizing their investigation about POGO. Sa akin lang ‘yung drugs and EJK na ulit-ulit lang,” he said.
He further stated that he had not received an invitation from the House to attend the joint investigation into EJKs, the war on drugs, and POGOs.
Former President Duterte is currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the killings during his administration’s anti-drug campaign.
In late July, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said that Dela Rosa, along with four other current and former police officials, had been named as suspects in the ICC’s investigation.
Police records place the death toll from the drug war at approximately 6,000, though human rights groups claim the number could be as high as 30,000.
Human rights lawyer Chel Diokno recently informed the House committee on human rights that, based on a 2017 year-end accomplishment report from the Duterte administration, a total of 20,322 people were killed in the war on drugs.