Sen. Bato dela Rosa Speaks on “Differences” w/ Some Marcos Jr. Admin Officials, House Members
BATO DELA ROSA – The former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief turned Senator revealed he will skip the 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Bongbong Marcos.
The 4th annual address of Pres. Bongbong Marcos is set on July 28. Ahead of the big event which will open the 20th Congress, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte confirmed that she won’t attend the 4th SONA of Marcos Jr. She claimed that she won’t be in the country.
According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, she will fly to South Korea to meet with the Filipino community there. In case her absence at the 4th SONA of the President pushes through, it will be the second time that she skips the annual address.
In 2024, Duterte also skipped the 3rd SONA of Pres. Bongbong Marcos and also refused to watched it on television or gadgets. Recently, Duterte-ally Senator Bato dela Rosa revealed that he will also skip the 4th annual address of the Chief Executive.
Based on a report on Inquirer, Sen. Bato dela Rosa claimed that he does not want to be “plastic” towards the Marcos administration. According to him, he has differences with some of the officials of the admin as well as some of the members of the House of Representatives.
“Alangan naman papunta ko doon na pa-smile-smile kahit na masama ang loob ko sa kanila,” Dela Rosa said.
According to Sen. Bato dela Rosa, it will not make sense to go to the 4th SONA of Pres. Bongbong Marcos frowning. He stressed that it would be awkward. Based on the report, he also claimed that he has no more expectations from the government.
“I’d be pretending in front of congressmen I’m upset with. Not all of them, but there are congressmen—and some people in Malacañang—I’m disappointed with. So why should I pretend?” he expressed.
Sen. Dela Rosa claimed that it is his personal decision not to attend the 4th SONA of Pres. Marcos and he did not influence his colleagues in the Duter7 or the “Duterte bloc” in the Senate. According to him, they can do whatever they want. He stressed that he just hopes that the government will focus in making the country better.
Recently, Marcos Jr.’s Executive Secretary, Lucas Bersamin, told Kyodo News that Sen. Bato dela Rosa may face similar fate with former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte if an arrest warrant is issued by the ICC or the International Criminal Court.