SEN. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday said he “declined” the invitation of the House of Representatives for him to attend its four-committee probe on the various issues linked to the Duterte administration.
In a text message to the media, Dela Rosa said: “I declined their invitation on the grounds that I don’t want to become the precedent in breaking the interparliamentary courtesy tradition of both houses of Congress.”
The House quad committee is set to investigate the alleged extrajudicial killings committed in pursuit of the illegal drugs war of the Duterte administration, and the crimes linked to the operation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
In a media interview, Dela Rosa said he believes that the House inquiry will “most likely” be used against him, the Duterte family and their allies in the ongoing investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on their supposed crimes against humanity related to the bloody war on drugs.
“Most likely because the efforts are there. Sino ba ang Speaker of the House? Romualdez. Eh sino ang nandoon nag-kumbinsi na mag-testify against Duterte? Romualdez and Congressman Zaldy Co. So, very obvious (Most likely because the efforts are there. Who is the Speaker of the House? [Martin] Romualdez. Who were present when they convinced my former police colleagues to testify against Duterte? Romualdez and Congressman Zaldy Co. So, very obvious),” he said.
Dela Rosa was referring to an “A-1” information he supposedly got from sources that former Sen. Anto-nio Trillanes IV and National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) director general Ricardo de Leon met with former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, former CIDG chief Romeo Caramat, former police intelli-gence official Eleazar Matta, and former National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo on different occasions to convince them to execute sworn affidavits to pin the drug-related EJKs to Duterte.
Dela Rosa said that according to his informant, Romualdez and Co were purportedly present when Tril-lanes and De Leon supposedly met with Albayalde, Caramat, Matta, and Leonardo.
Trillanes earlier said that Dela Rosa, Albayalde, Caramat, Matta, and Leonardo are now considered as “suspects” in the ICC probe.
“Very, very reliable information na nagsasabi na itong mga pulis na ito na kasama ko ngayon na invited by ICC for interview, ay ito’y isa isang pinatawag at kinausap in separate instances sa isang very private na lugar. Nagdala sa kanila doon ay si NICA director general Dick de Leon. Si De Leon at Trillanes ang kumausap sa kanila at nandoon si Speaker Romualdez at Cong. Zaldy Co (I received very, very reliable information that the cops who have been invited by the ICC for interview were invited in separate in-stances to come to a very private place. NICA director general De Leon and Trillanes were the ones who brought and talked to them, while Romualdez and Cong Zaldy Co were present),” Dela Rosa said.
He said the meetings happened soon after President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte parted ways, which saw the end of the UniTeam.
Dela Rosa said the four former police officials denied the request to pin down Duterte.
“They refused, hindi sila pumayag na gagamitin sila na pang diin kay Pangulong Duterte. Hindi sila pu-mayag. They were convinced to execute an affidavit na talaga idiin si Pangulong Duterte sa war on drugs before the ICC (They refused to be used to pin down former president Duterte. They were convinced to execute an affidavit to really point to Duterte in the war on drugs being investigated by the ICC),” he said.
When asked what could be the possible motive to put the blame on Duterte, Dela Rosa said it was obvi-ously political since the administration supposedly has a slim chance against Vice President Sara Duterte.
He did not clarify if he was referring to the 2025 midterm elections or the 2028 presidential elections.
De Leon, in a statement, denied Dela Rosa’s statements.
“I categorically deny allegations by Senator Bato dela Rosa that I, together with Speaker Martin Romualdez and other personalities, pressured certain police officials to testify against him (Dela Rosa) and former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC).”
He said that upon Caramat’s request, “I accompanied Major General Caramat to meet Speaker Martin Romualdez because he wanted to express his interest to be appointed the next PNP chief. During our conversation, he (Caramat) offered to disclose everything he knew about extrajudicial killings (EJK) and the drug war, including the list of names targeted for killing, weekly quotas, and the payment process involved in exchange for the top PNP post.”
De Leon said Romualdez “made it clear that the appointment of the chief PNP is solely the President’s prerogative and trust, and he has no influence over such decisions. The Speaker also rejected Caramat’s offer to disclose information in exchange for his appointment.”
“I also deny the allegation of Sen. Bato dela Rosa that I have discussed with former Chief PNP General Oscar D. Albayalde and PBGen Eleazar P. Matta to testify in the ICC,” he added.
Co, chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, said he met Caramat in Romualdez’s townhouse a few months ago but “there was never any mention of testifying against anyone before the ICC.”
He echoed De Leon’s statement: “When I arrived, Gen. Caramat was already there. From the conversa-tion, I heard that he (Gen. Caramat) was willing to tell everything he knows about EJKs in exchange for his appointment as chief PNP. This was flatly rejected by Speaker Romualdez. First, the Speaker said ap-pointments are based on the President’s trust and confidence; and second, he cannot endorse in ex-change for some consideration.”
Co said he first met Caramat last year when he was introduced to him by Rep. Erwin Tulfo (PL, ACT-CIS). “At that time, he (Gen. Caramat) was asking for my endorsement to be chief PNP,” he said.
The lawmaker said never met Albayalde, Leonardo and Mata. — With Victor Reyes and Wendell Vigilia
