Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday, November 14 said he respects the decision of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge who allowed former senator Leila de Lima to post bail but could not help wonder why the cases against her slowly weakened under a different administration.
While he respects the court’s decision, Dela Rosa said he disagrees with the ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the accusations against the former senator, who was a vocal critic of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, and who implemented then President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs, rejected insinuations that the cases filed against her were baseless.
“Hindi ibig sabihin porke nadi-dismiss ngayon at noon nagho-hold water ang kaso ni Senator De Lima ay wala talagang basehan ang pagkaso sa kaniya (Just because the cases against De Lima were dismissed it means the cases against her were baseless),” Dela Rosa said in a televised interview.
“In fact nakasuhan siya, nalabasan ng warrant of arrest so korte, korte ang nagbigay ng warrant of arrest, ‘di ba? So hindi natin masasabi na walang basehan (In fact, she was charged, an arrest warrant was issued by the court, it was the court that released an arrest warrant, right? So we cannot say that there was no basis),” he pointed out.
But Dela Rosa acknowledged that the view on De Lima’s cases has changed since Duterte finished his term.
“Siguro nagbago lang ang paningin sa kaso ngayon na wala na si President Rodrigo Duterte pero talagang may basis iyong korte (I think the perception on the case changed when President Duterte stepped down, but the courts really found a basis),” he insisted.
Nevertheless, Dela Rosa said he and the former leader has yet to discuss the developments on De Lima’s case.
“Hindi pa po. Hindi pa kami nag-usap (No, we haven’t talked),” he said.