Bato: My objective is to know the truth

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has assured the public the ongoing inquiry into alleged leaked documents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is in aid of legislation, and not in aid of persecution.

Dela Rosa said he is doing his best to come up with a fair, balanced, and objective inquiry that aims to help the senators craft laws and not to malign anyone.

"The hearing on the matter was pushed through in aid of legislation," said Dela Rosa, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.

"I would like to emphasize that this investigation is not meant to be in aid of persecution and we don’t have any objective to persecute anyone," he said.

Doubts were raised over the intent of the hearing into the leak of confidential PDEA documents supposedly linking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa said that tackling leaks of confidential documents was concerning because "it might compromise national security."

"I’m trying to make the hearings as objective as possible and as fair as I can. I really listen to both sides, to all of them. But I’m sorry if I fail to satisfy other people," Dela Rosa said, adding that the main goal of his panel’s hearing is to "know the truth."

"The objective of my hearing is not to make them happy. My objective here is to know the truth. Whether they are happy or not, I don’t care, and if someone will be persecuted through the course of our investigation, so be it."

He said the only end game in conducting such a hearing "is to legislate a law that will fill the gap concerning leakages of the country’s highly confidential documents."

Dela Rosa said no one can intimidate or influence him in conducting an investigation.

"We will be fair in the conduct of our hearings," he added.