Hontiveros on Dela Rosa’s ‘epal’ remark: ‘Sino ba ang nagdrama?’
Credit to Author: hniitsu| Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2019 04:59:19 +0000
MANILA, Philippines — “Sino ba ang nagdrama?”
This was opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros’ quick reply during the regular Kapihan sa Senado on Wednesday when asked about neophyte Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s “epal” remark.
Dela Rosa earlier said he would not conduct hearings in the Senate just to grandstand and even make resource persons cry.
“Yung sige para maghearing-hearing para mag-epal-epal lang, pakita mo sa tao na naghi-hearing-hearing siya, I will not do that. Kung may issue, kailangan aksyunan natin agad,” he said in the same forum last week.
(I will not hold hearings just for the sake of holding hearings or just to intrude and be nosy or just to show people I’m holding hearings. If there’s an issue, we need to act on it immediately.)
“‘Yung paiyakin ka sa sama ng loob dahil nga porke sila ang senador dito, sila ang may contained power, pasiga-siga ka diyan, resource person ka lang icocontempt kita. ‘Yung mga ganon, I will never do that,” he added.
(I will never make anyone cry out of resentment just because we’re senators and we have contained power and they’re just resource persons. I will never do that.)
READ: Bato: I won’t hold ‘paepal-epal’ Senate hearings, make resource persons cry
Hontiveros said she does not feel alluded to by the “epal” remark though there were some people telling her that Dela Rosa might be referring to her.
“Pag ‘epal,’ I don’t feel alluded to at all….” she said, adding that she was not bothered by such criticisms.
She said she has learned from veteran senators not only how to conduct committee hearings but also how to conduct herself as a senator.
And Hontiveros hopes the neophyte senators in the 18th Congress would learn the same.
“I really hope and have faith na magra-rise siya sa challenge bilang senador dahil ibang institution na ang Senado sa PNP (I have faith that he will rise to the challenge as a senator because the Senate is a different institution from the Philippine National Police). So I’m hoping that he will rise to the challenge,” she said, referring to Dela Rosa.
“Maging professional tayo, maging mature, let’s grow up. Napakaimportate ng mga trabaho ng dapat gawin dito sa Senado at mga laban na dapat ilaban,” Hontiveros said.
(Let’s be professional and mature; let’s grow up. The work that needs to be done and the fights that need to be fought at the Senate are very important.)
She also defended the hearings during the last Congress, saying that most, if not all of these inquiries were conducted “quite professionally.”
“And mukhang karamihan ng mga resource persons ay ganun ang karanasan at na-appreciate dahil karamihan naman ay hindi nag-drama,” she added.
(And it seems that most resource persons have experienced that and appreciated it because they were not being dramatic.)
Hontiveros did not categorically say, however, if her message was directed to Dela Rosa, who had become emotional several times while attending Senate hearings as then chief of the Philippine National Police. (Editor: Julie Espinosa)