A lot of government officials in the country are seasoned at evading criminal prosecution. It varies in context and the strategies they use are hardly noticeable for many. With the myriad of evading tactics, one of their favorites is diverting attention away from them and pointing it toward unimportant matters.
Just like the questionable venture on a recent hearing led by the one and only Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on November 29. He filed Senate Resolution 863 seeking to reinforce his strong opposition against the alleged continuous “radicalization” and “recruitment” of students in educational institutions to become members of armed communist groups.
The said bill proposed objectives to determine whether the institutions have neglected to supervise and exercise their parental authority toward students, discuss and reinforce the Anti-Terrorism Act, and revisit policies countering radical ideologies that often prey upon discontented youth.
This suggests that Dela Rosa wants to reinforce onsets of oppression among existing progressive, student-led organizations, including those at Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). With the vocalness of the university upon pressing issues involving the government, its students are at risk of becoming easy targets for red-tagging and other human rights violations.
Delving deeper, we can see that beneath this anomalous inquest is also a strategic tactic of classic diversion. It’s a subtle move to sway the narrative, turn the public eye away from a much bigger issue Bato is involved in, and hide the fact that he has yet to hold an account for his crimes and offenses.
Firstly, it can be observed that the imminent filing of the said resolution was made after Dela Rosa encountered a resolution plea from several lawmakers urging him to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation of the horrific bloodbaths brought by the extrajudicial killings under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Dela Rosa and Duterte are among those who are being sued before the ICC in 2017 for their alleged crimes against humanity due to various drug war deaths. Both the tyrant and his pawn are also known to be the central orchestrators involved in the infamous Davao Death Squad (DDS) and the nationwide “Oplan Tokhang” recorded from 2009 to 2019.
An ICC prosecutor estimated that there are 12,000 to 30,000 Filipinos, mostly in the urban poor, who were fatally killed in the war on drugs against the 2,679 reported by the government in their #RealNumbers campaign in 2017. Once the international human rights body was granted the authority to investigate the horrendous war on drugs, he knew that the taint in his name would be perpetual.
Secondly, Bato pushes to change the attention away from him and point it toward other people by fabricating lies and rehashing accusations. This includes the recent red-tagging allegations hurled against Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel whom he claims to have ties with the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the same hearing he led discussing the communist recruitment in schools.
Dela Rosa’s tantrum was reintroduced to everyone during the hearing when he stated that he’d use all of his parliamentary powers to pin Manuel down. It’s a clear display of unprofessional behavior coming from a Senator and shows how easy it is to point fingers at someone and accuse them of being a “terrorist.”
But then, these careless statements released by the rookie Senator weren’t overlooked. Several lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc collectively condemned the hearing as well as Dela Rosa’s red-tagging threats toward Manuel. ACT Teachers Representative France Castro and Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas made their opposing stances that the hearing revolved around “gossip” and just propagated “lies against activists.”
Indeed, these easy finger-points all stemmed from the Anti-Terror Act passed in 2020. Up until now, this act remains a threat to the democracy of an individual all because of its fundamentally flawed structure.
His extensive use of the anti-terror law as an instrument to turn away the spotlight from him relies heavily on red-tagging. We become witnesses to how it violated several constitutional rights like freedom of expression, association, and even of the press. It is a must that this law be repealed and the anti-terror groups targeting organizations within institutions be abolished immediately.
Moreover, Bato’s confidence in diverting attention away from him is strong because of his loyalty to presidents and the perks that come along with it. In truth, loyalty does take you to places. Dela Rosa boasts every now and then about the strong ties he still has with Marcos and Duterte.
Dela Rosa believed that the former wouldn’t allow the ICC to enter the country to investigate the drug war dilemma even after Marcos stated that the government is “studying” a possible return to the international body. For him, his connection with the higher-ups is a guaranteed immunity against the impending cases he is yet to face.
The hazy highways established by Dela Rosa may lead some of our attention away from him and his crimes. However, what’s certain is that he needs to stand his ground and not put a cloak on his accountabilities by swaying the narrative to someone or something else. He needs to own up to his wrongdoings and cooperate with the investigation to be done by the international tribunal, as well as the public scrutiny that goes with it.
Lives were lost, blood was shed, and families suffered to get the justice their lost loved ones deserved.
It is our everlasting duty as citizens to stay vigilant and be watchful for any political diversions that might stray us from a bigger evil that needs to be addressed. The country, at this point, is in dire need of vigilant citizenry to help keep government figures held accountable for any abuses of power and keep them adhering to democratic principles.
Article: Jhon Almark Dela Cruz
Cartoon: Kaiser Aaron Caya
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