SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 28 January)—Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is blaming House Speaker Martin Romualdez as responsible for what he labeled as a “fabricated” people’s initiative that could strain the relationship between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, in full motorcycle gear, arrives in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur Sunday morning for a stopover at the municipal hall as he and his team participated in the Boss Ironman Motorcycle Challenge 2024 Mindanao Leg.
Photo courtesy of San Francisco Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo
“We’re not certain yet. The alliance between the Marcoses and the Dutertes is still intact, but the President’s cousin is persistently fueling discord,” remarked De la Rosa during an interview at the municipal hall here Sunday, where he and his team of riders were making a stopover for the Boss Ironman Motorcycle Challenge 2024.
The senator has said multiple times during Senate deliberations that Romualdez is orchestrating the House of Representatives’ efforts to launch a nationwide signature campaign in support of the people’s initiative movement.
Dela Rosa stressed that the 24 senators are unified and have signed a manifesto opposing the people’s initiative.
“Voting as one in Congress is deceptive to the Filipino people.
They claim to want to amend an economic provision, but their real intention is to amend a political provision,” Dela Rosa told local reporters.
Those behind the people’s initiative are pushing that the Senate and the House of Representatives will vote jointly during a constituent assembly, which critics said is intended to outnumber the 24 senators against the over 300 members in the House.
Dela Rosa likened the House’s attempts using the Cebuano word “kapon,” meaning that the House intends to “castrate” the Senate by outnumbering them.
According to Dela Rosa, the proposed amendments would undermine the checks and balances in the legislature, raising doubts about a hidden agenda within the House.
When asked about the potential success of the people’s initiative movement, the Mindanawon senator stated that it could prevail if deception continues and if the public remains uninformed.
Dela Rosa urged those who have signed the people’s initiative petition to reconsider if they discover that it serves the politicians’ interests rather than their own. He encouraged them to go to the Commission on Elections to withdraw their signatures of support. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)
