As he is likely secured to get a Senate seat based on the partial and unofficial senatorial race results, the country’s former top cop Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said he plans to join lawmaking seminars first as his preparation before assuming office if he wins.
Dela Rosa said this in an interview with CNN Philippines on Tuesday, May 14, where he was asked what is the first thing he will do as a Senator.
“Ewan ko kung meron bang seminar d’yan, or anong bang training d’yan para matutuhan ko kung paano gawin ‘yung batas, [kung] ano bang trabaho namin d’yan sa Senado. Kung merong ganon, I’ll take that opportunity para matuto ako, para pag-aralan kung ano ‘yung magiging actions (I do not know if there are seminars or training out there where I could learn how to make law, [or like] what will be our job in the Senate. If there is any, I’ll take that opportunity so I could learn and study what actions should be taken),” he said.
The Senate hopeful, however, said he will not take seminars at the University of the Philippines (UP) because, according to him, they are “anti-military.”
“Ayokong pumunta d’yan, anti-police ‘yan (I do not want to go there. They are anti-police),” he also said.
Apart from planning to take part in lawmaking seminars, Dela Rosa also said he will consult with his fellow senatorial candidates Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel and Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito.
“Magtawag-tawag ako kanila Koko Pimentel, kay JV Ejercito kung ano ba talagang trabaho ng senador (I will call Koko Pimentel and JV Ejercito to ask what is the work of a senator). What do I need to prepare,” he said.
Dela Rosa currently ranked fifth with 18,424,175 votes based on the partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as of 9:25 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15.
Pimentel and Ejercito, meanwhile, are in 11th and 13th spot, respectively, with Pimentel garnering 14,272,196 votes and Ejercito with 13,991,010 votes.
“Magdasal na lang ako na sana si JV makaakyat, si Koko ‘wag nang bumaba (I will just pray that JV’s ranking will go up, and that Koko’s won’t go down),” Dela Rosa said.
In the ongoing partial and unofficial count, the Senate hopefuls who are poised to land a Senate seat aside from Dela Rosa and Pimentel are Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Christopher “Bong” Go, Pia Cayetano, Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos, Francis Tolentino, Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr, and Nancy Binay.
With all these candidates poised to land a Senate seat, the former top cop was asked, “What kind of a Senate will it be?
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To this, Dela Rosa said the Senate will be “very supportive” and “very cooperative” with the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Netizens react
Hours after issuing his remarks, Dela Rosa became the subject of netizens’ criticisms, with some of them reminding him that he is not in on-the-job training and that he should have taken seminars before seeking a Senate seat.
“Sana bago ka tumakbo, naisip mong gawin yan. Para kang pumasok sa cr para tumae tapos wala kang tubig or tissue hahahahahha ang kalat ‘di ba (Before you run [for Senate,] you should have thought of doing that already. It is like you went to the bathroom to take a dump but there is no water or tissue hahahahahaha. It is messy, right?),” netizen @probiothicc tweeted.
Meanwhile, Twitter user @JasperMedina200 said, “‘Yan tayo eh mag aaral kung kailan sasabak na sa giyera. Samantalang may overqualified naman na abogado na sina [Florin] Hilbay, [Romulo] Macalintal,[Jose Manuel “Chel”] Diokno at [Lorenzo “Erin”] Tañada [III]. Kawawang Pilipinas (This is what I’m saying. You only study when you are about to go to war. Meanwhile, there are overqualified lawyers like Hilbay, Macalintal, Diokno, and Tañada. How pitiful the Philippines is)!”
While they criticize Dela Rosa’s statement, some netizens, however, lauded him for being “honest” that he still needed guidance for him to do his job better.
One of those who sided with the former top cop was Facebook user Doi Lao, saying, “at least this guy is honest enough to learn more. Remember, skills and knowledge can be taught, but not wisdom and attitude.”
Lao also noted that Dela Rosa earned a Masters of Public Administration degree and Ph.D. in development administration from the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP).
“I am not for Bato but this totally makes sense,” he explained, adding, “the same people bashing and poking fun at him are the same self-proclaimed Intellectual Elitist!
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Philippine National Research Center for Teacher Quality’s Senior Program Manager, Philip Jay Alcoberes, who claims to be Dela Rosa’s former classmate at the USeP, also came to the defense of the senatorial candidate, saying that he remembers Dela Rosa as a “persevering” and “determined” student.
“Just like us, he also participated and led in class discussions and wrote tons of papers,” he wrote in his Facebook post.
“He was very promising because he spoke from the heart and mind with his heavy ‘Bisaya’ accent. He was so grounded just as if he was not (literally) a big ‘muscled’ guy in uniform,” he added.
Alcoberes believes that Dela Rosa, whom he said “has gone a long way,” can do “more” for the Philippines should he win in the elections.