Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who just recovered from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), on Monday reiterated the need to exert extra effort in following health protocols being implemented by the government to ensure the safety of everyone from the dreaded viral disease.

In his first live interview following his discharge from the hospital due to COVID-19, Dela Rosa shared his fight against the contagious disease and the difficulty of fighting an unseen enemy.

“In the sense na bago ito, wala pa talagang fixed na gamot para dito, ay kinabahan talaga ako dahil ayun nga, mabuti yung mga terorista tinatamaan ng bala, pero itong COVID hindi mo ito matamaan. Kahit anong baril mo dito, hindi mo ito nakikita, hindi mo ito tinatamaan so wala kang kalaban laban dito. You are at the mercy of that virus na ‘yan, pero sabi ko laban lang because I have to be strong dahil yung anak ko rin is apektado. Dasal lang talaga…it really helped, yung pinaubaya mo na kay Lord yung outcome ng sitwasyon mo (This is a new experience because there is no definite drug for this. We will worry about it. You can hit terrorists with bullet, but you can’t do it with the virus. You cannot fight an unseen enemy. You are at the mercy of that virus. So I told myself, I have to be strong to fight it. Even my daughter was also a COVID-19 victim. Prayers helped. I left my fate to the Lord),” Dela Rosa said during DZMM radio interview.

Dela Rosa, chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, urged Filipinos to take utmost care and always comply with the minimum health standards and safety protocols being implemented by the COVID-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“Well ‘yun talaga, utmost care, utmost pag-iingat talaga ang gawin natin sa sarili natin. Dahil ako kahit sabihin mo na nagka-Covid ako, pagdating sa health protocols nag-iingat din ako talaga. Hindi ako lumalabas ng walang face mask at walang face shield. Di bale nang sabihin nila na anti-social ako dahil hindi nagpapalapit, may pagka-salto, sa bisaya pa sa amin ‘salto’ ako, pero tinamaan pa rin (That is the situation. Take utmost care of your life. After having had a bout of COVID-19 infection, I am very careful in following health protocols. I don’t leave the house without face shield and face mask. They may call me anti-social but I just don’t want people to come close to me. Despite that, I was a COVID-19 victim),” Dela Rosa said.

“So kaya kahit anong ingat mo diyan, may tsansa pa rin talagang tatamaan ka, kaya doblehin mo pa kung anong ingat mo (Despite be extra cautious, there are strong chances you will get infected. You might still be infected despite your tight defenses. That is why you must double your guard),” he added.

Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, also advised those who would be tested positive for the virus to immediately inform authorities and the people that they had close contact with for them to prepare and undergo proper quarantine measures.

“Noong nag-positive ako, nag-post agad ako sa aking Facebook (account) for disclosure purposes dahil kawawa naman yung ibang naka close contact natin na hindi makapag-prepare, ‘di ba? Hindi makapag handa. Sinabi ko kaagad na please follow the health protocols kasi nag-positive ako (When I tested positive, I immediately posted my health status in my Facebook account for disclosure purposes. I pity the people whom I had close contact with and who are not able to prepare. I informed them to please follow health protocols because I was tested positive),” he noted.

When asked on his thoughts about the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG’s) proposal to ban Christmas parties for this year as well as the department’s call to the public to celebrate only with immediate families this Christmas, Dela Rosa expressed full support to avoid the further spread of the virus.

“I am very supportive of that because it is for our sake. What is one Christmas that would pass us by, but we are all safe in the end. After we have been vaccinated, we’ll have a double Christmas celebration next year,” he said.

Dela Rosa announced he tested negative for COVID-19 on December 11, 21 days after his initial results showed that he contracted the virus.

He was hospitalized on November 23 for medical monitoring after experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough and cold, and was discharged on December 4.

Dela Rosa expressed willingness to donate his convalescent plasma to help other patients in their fight with COVID-19.

“I can donate my convalescent plasma,” said Dela Rosa, who tested positive for COVID-19 on November 21.