Bato Dela Rosa backs VP Sara: Leftist groups are really opposed to peace
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Friday, October 6 defended Vice President Sara Duterte over her controversial statement that those opposed to giving her office confidential funds have insidious intentions.
As far as he is concerned, Dela Rosa said fellow politicians who are against confidential funds have their own reasons but not the Makabayan bloc and other leftist groups.
Duterte earlier scored those who questioned the proposed confidential funds allocated for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), which the vice president also leads as secretary, saying those “against confidential funds is against peace.”
“Nakikita kasi nila yon yung masyadong vocal na tumututuligsa dyan eh yung mga kaliwa na grupo (They can see that those who are so vocal against that are the leftist groups),” Dela Rosa said in a phone interview.
“Kasi alam natin na lalong lalo na yung ganyang confidential funds dyan sa DepEd ay gagamitin talaga niya yan para i-monitor yung recruitment sa mga CPP-NPA sa mga kabataan, sa mga estudyante (Because they know that the confidential funds for the DepEd will be used to monitor the CPP-NPA’s attempts to recruit the youth),” he said.
“So alam natin tatamaan talaga sila, yung mga makakaliwa. Kanino ba naka-align yung mga makakaliwa dyan na maiingay, di ba naka-align don sa kaliwa (We know who will be hit, those who joined the left. Those who were vocal against it, aren’t they aligned with the left)?” he pointed out.
“So they are fighting for their existence and one way of fighting for their existence is iwasan talaga na makakuha ng confidential funds itong si Vice Pres Inday Sara para tuloy tuloy ang kanilang recruitment (to prevent the vice president from getting confidential funds so they can continue with their recruitment),” the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief said.
“Huminto na tayo sa pagiging plastik (Stop being a hypocrite),” the senator added, when asked what his message is to the Makabayan bloc.
The OVP is requesting P500-million worth of confidential funds under the 2024 national budget, while the DepEd is seeking P150-million for the same purpose also for next year.