Reelectionist Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has called on voters to elect senatorial candidates coming from the Visayas region in the upcoming midterm elections.

Dela Rosa, one of the senatorial candidates of the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) allied with former president Rodrigo Duterte, made the call during a gathering of councilors in Cebu, as he called for continued support on him and other Bisaya candidates in the upcoming polls.

“Gusto niyo ba na walang manalong Bisaya? Siguraduhin natin na may representative tayo doon. Hindi pwede na sila-sila lang (Don’t you want a Visayan to win in the senatorial elections? Let’s make sure that we have a representative in the Senate. It’s not good to just let the usual candidates win),” Dela Rosa said during a recent assembly of the Philippine Councilors League Region VII at Bai Hotel in Mandaue City, Cebu.

Besides hailing from Davao, the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief said that he also traces his roots to Bohol, as his mother is from the town of Antequera.

Dela Rosa said that aside from Mindanao, which is his bailiwick, he also hopes to get huge support from vote-rich Visayas. 

In 2019, the senator had a strong showing in the Central Visayas region when he first joined the senatorial race, as he placed 2nd in Bohol with 354,114 votes, 4th in Cebu (786,613 votes) and Negros Oriental (221,570 votes), and 6th in Siquijor (20,108 votes).

During the event, the lawmaker reiterated his call for local legislators to help address the country's persistent drug problem.

“Mga leaders naman tayo sa ating mga komunidad, kausapin nyo ‘yung ating mga kababayan, 'Kayo, bantayan ninyo ang inyong mga anak na huwag gumamit ng droga.' Kausapin ninyo (We are leaders in our community, talk to our people and tell them to watch out for their children and prohibit them from using drugs. Talk to them),” he appealed.

"Dito tayo sa (Let’s be on the) side ng (of) prevention, prevention is better than cure, ‘di ba (right)? We have to prevent them from indulging in drugs,” he stressed.