"Authenticity is different from credibility." This was the point raised by Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon on Wednesday when he asked Senate President Miguel Zubiri to remove Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa as chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.

"Iba ang authenticily sa credibility... Sabi ni Bato authentic daw yun xerox ng report... but authenticity refers only to the FORM, office form," Gadon said.

"Anybody can just fill up an office form and claim it is authentic. Kasi office form, pero iba naman ang credibility, if the superior REJECTS the report for lack of credibility then THERE IS NO REPORT EXISTING!!!!," Gadon further explained.

He added that Sen. Dela Rosa was only relying on "hearsay" from his witness, former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent Jonathan Morales, who President Marcos described as a “professional liar” and likened to a “jukebox.”

"In a court of law, itatapon ng judge ang dokumento for being just a hearsay as the contents are not from the PERSONAL knowledge of the person but coming from a polluted, unidentified, non-existent, fabricated source!" Gadon said.

He asked Sen. Zubiri to remove Bato as the chairman of the said committee and make the latter responsible for all the expenses incurred in several hearings already conducted.

"Dapat tanggalin si Bato sa pagiging Chairman ng Committee dahil inaaksaya lamang nya ang pera ng gobyerno. At dapat ay ipa-refund sa kanya ang gastos ng mga hearing na iyan," Gadon said.

The presidential adviser also said that he missed the days of old Senate, "where senators discussed matters scholarly."

"Bato could not even expressed himself in English. More so in Tagalog," Gadon said.

Related stories:

https://tribune.net.ph/2024/05/09/house-leaders-blast-bato-on-probe-linking-marcos-to-illegal-drugs

https://tribune.net.ph/2024/05/02/bato-my-objective-is-to-know-the-truth