Former Philippine National Police chief and incumbent Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s sprint through Senate corridors to avoid a potential International Criminal Court arrest warrant drew sharp ridicule from Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Tuesday, who called the scene both laughable and pitiable.
De Lima, who serves as House senior deputy minority leader, described the closed-circuit television footage of dela Rosa nearly stumbling down a Senate staircase as a jarring contrast to the bravado the senator had long projected in public.
“When I was shown the video where he is running away, and that he nearly fell down, I found it funny and honestly, I view the scenery or the scenario as pathetic. It appears pathetic because… where is your previous swagger?” de Lima said in an ambush interview at the Batasang Pambansa complex.
The lawmaker noted that dela Rosa’s flight from the building stood in stark contradiction to a challenge he had previously issued to former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV — that Trillanes personally serve the ICC warrant against him and be the one to put him in handcuffs.
“You even challenged former Senator Trillanes, dela Rosa’s ‘make my day’ statements and his dare for Trillanes to handcuff him, and that’s exactly what Senator Trillanes did. He was there to fulfill the wishes of Senator Bato,” de Lima said.
She added that dela Rosa bore some responsibility for placing himself in the situation. “So it’s funny and at the same time it’s a pity because he should know that already, and he still took the risk of going there.”
Dela Rosa had been absent from Senate sessions for roughly six months amid persistent reports that the ICC had already issued a warrant for his arrest, stemming from crimes against humanity charges tied to his role in implementing Oplan Tokhang under the Duterte administration. As Duterte’s first PNP chief, dela Rosa oversaw the anti-drug campaign whose name he coined himself — drawn from the Visayan words “toktok,” meaning to knock, and “hangyo,” meaning to plead.
De Lima questioned what compelled dela Rosa to surface at the Senate at all, pointing out that his return had nothing to do with legislative duties.
“He did not show up at the Senate to work, but this time around, because of that planned coup against the Senate leadership. So he showed up for that purpose, that’s political actually in nature — not to work,” she said. “So he knows that – the risk.”
His appearance on Monday afternoon — his first in the plenary hall in around six months — proved consequential for the chamber’s internal politics. Dela Rosa’s presence helped former Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano secure a leadership change, with 13 senators — the minimum for a majority vote — electing Cayetano as the new Senate president.
The shake-up at the Senate, however, has not deterred House lawmakers from pushing forward with Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said the process would continue regardless of the leadership transition, while Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña echoed that position, maintaining that the trial must proceed even after dela Rosa and other Duterte allies tipped the balance of Senate leadership.
