Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa should pray and consult his family over his political plans in the May, 2022 elections.
Ronwald Munsayac, a stalwart at the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) group led by Senators Manny Pacquiao and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, said this is the advice he can give to Dela Rosa, who recently filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) as the other’s faction’s standard bearer.
Munsayac said there is nothing wrong if the senator seeks divine guidance instead of merely listening to the “people around him” who suddenly pushed and convinced him to run for the top government post in next year’s polls in a last-minute decision.
“Yung advise ko kay Sen. Bato, pakinggan ang kanyang puso talaga at konsultahin din ang pamilya niya kung tutuloy talaga siya dito. Huwag po sana siyang making sa mga nakapaligid sa kanya at baka sariling interest lang nila ang gusto nilang mangyari (My advise to Sen. Bato, he should listen to his heart and consult his family on whether he should really run here. I hope he doesn’t listen to those around him who suddenly thought of pushing him to run because they might only be looking out after their personal interests),” Munsayac said in a virtual press briefing on Monday, October 11.
“Advise ko lang kay Sen. Bato, magdasal po tayo. Pakinggan talaga kung ano yung nasa puso ninyo. Wag makinig dun sa mga tao na tinutulak lang kau sa isang bagay na mahirap atrasan (My advise to Sen. Bato, he should pray. He should listen to the voice in his heart. Do not listen to people who are pushing you to do something that would be hard for you to withdraw,” he further said.
But in a separate online interview, Dela Rosa said that he has the desire to lead the country and is ready to accept the challenge of continuing the programs of the Duterte administration even though talks of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio running in his place lingers.
“I want to lead this country. 'Yan ang ating (That is our) desire. It’s inscribed in my heart,” Dela Rosa said.
The senator said his being a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief also gave him an edge over other presidential candidates.
“And it’s a lasting impression, good or bad yan... yung may good impression sa akin, which translated to 19 million votes,” the senator said.
“Alam ko (I know) I can still have those 19 million votes kung gusto pa nilang ipagpatuloy ko yung ginagawa ko noon (if they want me to continue what I did before),” he added.
The ruling PDP-Laban party has been split into two factions with one headed by Secretary Alfonso Cusi endorsing the tandem of Senators Dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go.
The other wing is headed by Pimentel, which is endorsing Pacquiao as their standard bearer, and BUHAY Party List Rep. Lito Atienza as his running mate.