Reelectionist Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday, March 25 claimed that his security detail had been recalled by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Dela Rosa disclosed the matter in an interview, saying he was only made aware of the matter upon his arrival in Davao on March 24.
“Pag-uwi ko dito sa Davao, wala na ko security. Pina re-report na sila sa unit nila (When I arrived here in Davao, I no longer have any security. They were told to report back to their unit),” the senatorial candidate said in a phone interview.
Nevertheless, Dela Rosa said he finds nothing wrong if they are pulled out saying he understands that the authorities in Davao are trying to avoid any problems.
“Nagi-ingat ang mga commander nila, yung unit commander ba nag-iingat na hindi masilip na may tao sila sa akin (their commander, their unit commander, was careful not to let anyone see that they had assigned someone to me),”
“Mainit man ang gubyerno sa akin di ba? Mainit ang gubyerno sa akin tapos malaman na may tao sila sa akin na nakadeploy, (kaya) nag-iingat sila (The government is after me, right? They are after me but then they find out that they have someone deployed to me, so they are being careful,” he stressed.
Nevertheless, Dela Rosa said his movements are not limited, saying he is still going around to campaign.
“Bakit ko ili-limit ang sarili ko? Kung may warrant na, yun na, wala mang warrant (Why will I limit my own movements? If there’s a warrant already, then that’s it. But there’s no warrant yet),” he said referring to the possibility of the International Criminal Court (ICC) already having an arrest warrant issued against him.
“Wala talaga. Wala akong information kung kelan maglabas (ng warrant), (I have no information when a warrant would be issued),” he pointed out.