De Lima berates Bato: I’ve had enough of you, your lies

Senator Leila de Lima on Monday berated Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa during a Senate committee hearing as the former questioned why the PNP chief earlier refused to disclose who asked for the reinstatement of Supt. Marvin Marcos. 

“Bakit hindi ninyo kaagad sinabi sa amin at sa publiko na ‘yung nag-utos sa inyo ay mismong ang Pangulong Duterte? Nagpaikot-ikot ka pa eh. Kumpare, ganyan ganyan,” De Lima said. 

Dela Rosa replied: “We are trained not to divulge. Alangan naman sabihin ko kaagad, may rason si Presidente bakit niya pina-reinstate.” 

Dela Rosa earlier denied that it was Duterte who asked that Marcos, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Region 8, be reinstated to his post. He also said it was his “kumpare” from Malacañang. 

De Lima then revealed to the media that it was Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go who called up Dela Rosa. The PNP chief denied this and even dared De Lima to name her source. 

A day after, however, Duterte admitted that he instructed Go to call Dela Rosa. He explained that he asked that Supt. Marcos be reinstated so that he could further be observed for alleged links to illegal drug operations. 

During the hearing, Senator De Lima pressed on the issue, asking Dela Rosa if he would have divulged the identity of his kumpadre had Duterte not admitted that it was him. 

“Kung maipit, sasabihin ko. Magpalit tayo ng position your honor, ikaw maging chief PNP kung kaya mo,” Dela Rosa told De Lima. 

This angered De Lima, telling the PNP chief: “Do not argue with me. I am the one asking here. Do not argue with me! I’ve had enough of you, kayong lahat na mga nagsisinungaling.” 

It was disclosed during the hearing that Supt. Marcos was relieved from his post and reinstated on the same day. Marcos, for his part, was clueless how the information got to the President. 

Marcos was eventually relieved from his post after Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was killed in an operation led by his CIDG team. He is still under restrictive custody. — RSJ, GMA News