SECOND OPINION by Arvin Ferdinand M. Cabalu

IS Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa worth everything for the 13 Senators identified as Digong and Sara Duterte’s disciples? Is this Bato “worth dying for” at least for the 13 upper chamber legislators? Is Bato dela Rosa more important than the integrity of the country’s Senate?

On May 11, now fugitive from justice Bato surfaced at the Senate after six months in hiding to vote for the Senate Presidency of Allan Peter Cayetano… on May 13, the now infamous shooting at the Senate involving Bato’s PMA “mistah” Retired Maj. Gen. Mao Aplasca became one of the darkest moments in the political history of the country. Early morning of May 14, Bato, accompanied by another DDS Senator Robin Padilla escaped and went into hiding again. On May 21, Senator Imee Marcos stood on the floor and lambasted members of the minority through a privileged speech and a video presentation anchored on hearsay, intrigue and unfounded accusations. On May 25, minority members of the Senate walked-out of the session hall to protest Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s motion of allowing Bato to participate in every senate deliberation via zoom.

A single senator has created a monstrous political disaster in the Philippines because of his refusal to recognize an international warrant of arrest. A single senator who is wanted by the ICC was given an unprecedented protection by his senate allies by granting him “Senate Custody”. A single senator was the very reason for the shooting incident at the senate and a single senator divided the senate and the entire Filipino people.

Bato surfaced on May 11 because, according to him, he was called by Cayetano and asked him to personally appear at the senate to vote for him to oust then Senate President Tito Sotto. But before he could reach the session hall, NBI agents tried to serve him an ICC warrant—Bato, as coined by himself, “ran for his life”, to evade the arresting team.

Cayetano and his DDS allies came to his rescue by providing him a questionable “protective custody”.

Through his lawyers, the visibly fearful senator filed before the Supreme Court an Urgent Motion for a TRO and Status Quo Ante Order— it was eventually denied on May 13 giving Philippine authorities all the reason to serve his warrant. Then the firing of guns happened. According to all investigations, it was Aplasca (as admitted by him) who fired the first, second, third, fourth, fifth to the 27th (warning) shot. He was subsequently suspended by the Ombudsman and charges are already being prepared against him.

Padilla, as he claimed in several media interviews, acted on his own to assist on the “escape” of Bato. Padilla admitted that Bato asked him for a ride home despite the protective custody accorded to him by the senate and an ICC warrant. Padilla will now face an obstruction of justice case before the ICC and his wish of joining Bato to the Netherlands will likely be granted.

Marcos agreed to strip off from the senate records her speech and video presentation due to lack of evidence as her fellow majority members suggested. Marcos was obviously trying to ignite a hate campaign against those she included in her video presentation.

Only last May 25, the allies of Bato, particularly Marcoleta and Cayetano, tried to accommodate the crying senator again when they attempted to divide the house for an amendment of a senate rule letting absent (or hiding) senators into joining sessions, plenary debates and online voting. The motion was obviously aimed at letting Bato vote in acquitting Sara in her impeachment trial. The measure resulted to a never-before-heard walkout by minority senators.

By doing so, these 13 senators, have literally destroyed the integrity of the senate. They have disregarded the judicial system by ignoring a valid ICC warrant of arrest. These 13 took custody of a fugitive from justice, they let the fugitive escape, they let a shooting incident happened as allegedly a smoke screen to let Bato escape, they are bending their own rules to accommodate illegal acts and so on and so forth.

Why are DDS senators hell-bent in protecting Bato? The answer is blowing in the wind — as it all boils down to the impeachment of Sara…a Duterte acquittal will result into the dropping of the flood control plunder and malversation cases of Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Chiz Escudero and the Joel Villanueva, the dropping of the SEC insider trading cases of Camille and Mark Villar, the dropping of the plunder (illegal donation) case of Marcoleta, the scrapping of the 24-billion Department of Energy penalty for Loren Legarda’s son Cong. Leandro Leviste’s Solar Energy firm, the soon-to-be obstruction of justice case of Padilla and the protection of Bato and Bong Go from a possible ICC detention.

For me, the only way for the senate to regain its old glory is a change in leadership once again. I see Legarda, the Villars, Escudero and Villanueva changing sides to compose a new 16-man majority.

The Energy Department can lower its penalty on Legarda’s son, the dropping of the insider trading cases of the Villars, while Escudero and Villanueva are yet to be prosecuted on the flood control mess therefore the possibility of these two senators turning state witnesses are a possibility… these things can be used as their bargaining chips to jump from the other ship to again take a sensible control of the senate under a new Senate President in Sherwin Gatchalian.

Bato is not the senate… the senate is composed of 24 senators and also, the Philippines is composed of 120-million strong Filipinos. Bato has allegedly committed wrongdoings as Davao Police Chief and as the Chief PNP both under the direct supervision of Digong Duterte as Davao City Mayor and President of the republic.

It is about time to give those who lost their love ones to tokhang and oplan double barrel justice they long sought for.