“Nasan na yung angas mo?”
Speaking to reporters during an interview at the House of Representatives this Tuesday, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima admitted that she laughed when she saw the video of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa running from authorities in the Senate.
De Lima, who has first-hand experience on getting arrested in the upper house, said that the entire scene was “pathetic,” questioning the supposed confidence of Dela Rosa who challenged former Senator Sonny Trillanes to personally carry out his arrest.
“Honestly, I review the scenery or the senaryo, the scene as pathetic. Pathetic nung itsura kasi nasaan na yung angas mo, dati na chinallenge mo pa nga si Senator Trillanes,” she expressed.
(Honestly, I review the scenery, the scene as pathetic. It was pathetic because where was your confidence when you challenged Senator Trillanes)
“Yung kanyang mga ‘make my day’ and ‘kung gusto mo ikaw na magpoposas sa akin’ and that was exactly what Senator Trillanes did. Nagpakita siya diyan to fulfill the wishes of Senator Bato,” she added.
(The whole ‘make my day’ and ‘if you want you be the one that places handcuffs on me’ and that was exactly what Senator Trillanes did. He appeared there to fulfill the wishes of Senator Bato)
The solon further stated that the senator’s move was questionable, noting that he took the risk of going to the Senate despite likely knowing that a warrant of arrest was already issued on his behalf.
She also sought to affirm the notion that Bato’s appearance was mainly political, particularly with the coup that was subsequently carried out to oust Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto.
One of the more saddening developments for De Lima was how the Senate has been used as a refuge due to its ability to provide “protective custody” to officials.
However, the lawmaker pointed out that such a privilege was not necessarily legally binding as there was no law that supported nor mandated it under the Constitution.
In addition, she explained that the doctrine concerning “parliamentary immunity” only applied for cases that were punishable by imprisonment of six years or lower.
For Bato’s case, the warrant served by the International Criminal Court (ICC) was for a crimes against humanity charge which, if found guilty, will incarcerate an individual for 30 years up to life imprisonment.
Speaking from experience
Getting arrested in the upper house was a situation De Lima was all too familiar with, as she was seized by the Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in 2017 for charges related to alleged drug trafficking.
Reliving her experience, the lawmaker said that upon hearing the news of a warrant against her that she had gone home to gather her things and bid farewell to family members before returning to the Senate.
De Lima noted that she decided to be seized there as she did not want her family to see her being taken by authorities.
She noted that, at that point, she had no intention of seeking refuge as she knew that she would not be protected under parliamentary immunity.
“I had no intention whatsoever to evade, magtago, o magpakupkop, wala po akong kinausap sa Senado para kupkopin ako kasi alam ko in the first place na wala naman basehan na magpakupkop,” she expressed.
(I had no intention whatsoever to evade, to hide, or to seek refuge, I did not talk to anyone in the Senate to protect me because I knew in the first place that I had no basis to seek refuge)