Bato: I’m no destabilizer, not persecuting Marcos Jr.

MANILA, Philippines —  The Senate probe on the leak of purported documents from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is not part of destabilization efforts against President Marcos, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said yesterday.

And despite being a party-mate of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Dela Rosa maintained that he is not in favor of calls to oust Marcos from office.

In an interview with “Storycon” on One News, Dela Rosa described himself as a “rightist”and said that the position of Duterte as chairman of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino does not necessarily reflect the position of the entire PDP.

“The party chairmanship is not a party dictatorship,” Dela Rosa said in a mix of English and Filipino. “I am a rightist. I want to maintain the status quo. I want to maintain the situation. I am not a destabilizer.”

In the same interview, he maintained that the ongoing investigation of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs that he chairs is not aimed at “persecuting” Marcos.

“It is very clear that the purpose of my hearing is investigation in aid of legislation. This is not investigation in aid of persecution. I am not persecuting the President. I am not condemning the President,” he said.

The Senate investigation is looking into the alleged leak of a PDEA “authority to operate and a pre-operation report” that links Marcos and actress Maricel Soriano to illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa admitted that he has doubts on some of the things that Morales said, such as his insistence that he cannot name the person who gave him the information that he put in supposed report.

No other person corroborated Morales’ claim, the senator added.

Dela Rosa said they will invite other personalities identified by Morales, including former executive secretary Paquito Ochoa, at the next hearing.

Congressmen see destabilization

Marcos’ allies in the House of Representatives,  however, see the development as part of a bigger picture aimed at destabilizing the Marcos administration.

The congressmen said several national events occurring one after another, including a supposed revelation from former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, are aimed at ousting the administration.

“Connect the dots. You don’t need senator Trillanes telling us all these. You just have to connect the dots,” Lanao del Sur’s first district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said, citing the so-called “prayer rallies” of Duterte supporters, the purported secret deal with China and the “PDEA leaks.”

“Personally, if you take my opinion in it, there is a big effort to destabilize this administration. And we can see it as it develops, it is politically motivated targeting this administration’s downfall,” he pointed out.

“Everything in here is very much like a jigsaw puzzle, everything is coming into place and the picture is now very clear. It becomes clearer and clearer each day that they attack the administration,” Adiong said.

Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez of party-list 1-Rider, for his part, is amazed at how the Senate continues its inquiry despite Dela Rosa not having an iota of evidence that could pin down anybody, relying only on non-existent documents.

“I have to express surprise and alarm on the developments in the Senate. I have to express dismay, given the background of the senator, because he (being ex-PNP chief) is in a position to better understand and appreciate the evidence before him,” he said.

Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon of party-list Ako Bicol concurred with Gutierrez’s observations and called the PDEA’s so-called witness a “pathological liar.”

“I am very disappointed with the way Senator dela Rosa conducted the hearing. Why? What we have is a witness who is a pathological liar who perjured himself, who is facing a case of false testimony in Pampanga, who is facing a case in Pasig for falsification,” he revealed.

House Deputy Speaker David Suarez and Rep. Jefferson Khonghun of Zambales’ first district also agreed.

“My advice is for them to stop this farce. Let’s let the administration work, let’s allow the administration to succeed, if we love our country let’s work for the Filipino people,” Suarez said.

“It’s very obvious on who will benefit from all these. I don’t think you have to be a scientist to see who will benefit from any destabilization plot against the sitting administration,” Khonghun told a news briefing held at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City, without naming names.

No House probe

The House of Representatives is not inclined to investigate the supposed leaked PDEA documents.

According to House committee on dangerous drugs chair and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, some quarters have been urging him to conduct a probe “in aid of legislation” on the PDEA “leaks” and former PDEA intelligence officer Jonathan Morales.

However, Barbers said he “flatly turned it down” after learning of Morales’ “questionable credibility and shady past as a police officer and PDEA agent.”

“Firstly, it’s hard to comprehend what kind of legislation can my committee generate from the stories of Mr. Morales. He is saying so many things which have no sense at all,” he noted.

The lawmaker added it seems that Morales’ testimonies are just “products of his imagination” because he could not provide any material or corroborative evidence.

Barbers added that “engaging the unfounded and uncorroborated claims and narratives of Mr. Morales is just a waste of time, money and government resources.”

“It’s much ado about nothing. He is found to be having selective memories of events, it’s like a barber’s tale, when asked to provide details of his tales and allegations,” he maintained.

‘Ouster plot just rumor’

The revelation of a supposed ouster plot against President Marcos by some senior officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is nothing more than a rumor that needs no investigation, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said yesterday.

Trillanes said on Tuesday that active police officials are working with retired PNP officers and members of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet in a plot to kick out Marcos from power.

“You know it’s just hearsay, it’s not a credible threat at all. As far as we are concerned, we are not paying this any mind,” Abalos told reporters at Camp Crame.

He likewise gave assurance that the 232,000-strong PNP is 100 percent behind Marcos and remains focused on its mandate, which is to protect the public from criminals.

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil echoed Abalos’ statement, saying there is no reason for police officers to rebel against the Marcos administration, stressing there is no demoralization within their ranks.

He said some issues circulating on social media platforms that benefits of police officers will be reduced are fake news.

“I want to be clear, there is no issue and all of our PNP are very loyal to our Constitution and they are very supportive of the Bagong Pilipinas project of our President,” he said at a news forum on Tuesday night. –  Delon Porcalla, Sheila Crisostomo, Emmanuel Tupas