Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Facebook)

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa must issue a public apology to President Marcos in case the whole "PDEA leaks" investigation ends up achieving nothing but besmirching the latter's name. 

Thus, said House Assistant Majority Leader Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun as he reacted to the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs' fourth hearing on the issue. 

"Kung walang napatunayan dito sa hearing na ito, sana ano, ako'y nakiki-usap kay Senator Bato, we call on him, to make a public apology sana kay Presidente Bongbong Marcos," Khonghun said in a press conference Monday, May 20. 

(If nothing gets proven in this hearing, I hope, I appeal to Senator Bato, we call on him, to make a public apology to Presidente Bongbong Marcos.) 

"Dahil talagang ang dahilan lamang ng...hearing ng kumite na ito is para ipahiya ang ating Pangulo (Because the only reason...for this committee hearing is to embarrass our President)," he said. 

"So nananawagan ako, nakiki-usap ako na kung walang mapatunayan sa hearing na to na ebidensya, no, sana no, humingi sila ng tawad sa ating Pangulo dahil talagang dina-drag nila yung pangalan, yung malinis na pangalan ng ating Pangulo, lalung lalo na sa mga usapin na wala naman siyang kasalanan," said the "Young Guns" bloc member. 

(So I call on you, I appeal to you, that in case the hearing doesn't prove any evidence, I hope they seek forgiveness from our President, because they're really dragging the name, the good name of our President, especially in issues that he has nothing to do with.)

Dela Rosa, a close ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, chairs the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. 

In one of the so-called PDEA leaks hearings, star witness Jonathan Morales provided testimony regarding the purported "authenticity" of leaked 2012 documents allegedly implicating then-Senator Marcos and actress Maricel Soriano in illegal drug use.  

Morales is a dismissed Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) intelligence officer whose competence as a witness or resource person has been repeatedly questioned by authorities. 

PDEA Director General Moro Virgilio Lazo strongly refuted Morales' claims, and asserted that the documents in question, including a supposed pre-operation report and authority to operate, were non-existent.  

Lazo categorically stated that Morales' allegations were "fabricated" and had "no basis", and emphasized that the Senate panel should not rely on testimony from an individual who had previously committed perjury by concealing his dismissal from the Philippine National Police (PNP) when he applied for a job at PDEA. 

Despite this, Dela Rosa has seemingly chosen to believe Morales' stories, leading to his decision to conduct multiple hearings. 

Duterte is a critic of the Marcos administration.