ANTIPOLO Rep. Romeo Acop yesterday fired back at Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa for saying that the House quad committee was designed to destroy former the reputation of President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies, saying the senator should come up with evidence to his statement that the former chief executive appears to be at the center of a “grand criminal enterprise.”
“If Sen. Dela Rosa feels the findings are inaccurate, he should present evidence to counter them rather than resorting to baseless claims of political intent,” Acop said in a statement.
Acop insisted that the joint committee’s work “is grounded on evidence and not driven by personal or political motives.”
“We’re just doing our job. This is not about destroying anyone or any group. It’s about uncovering the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be,” Acop said.
“If Sen. Dela Rosa feels the findings are inaccurate, he should present evidence to counter them rather than resorting to baseless claims of political intent,” he said.
During the weekend, Dela Rosa decried Acop’s statement that Duterte is supposedly the central figure in a “grand criminal enterprise” involved in illegal drugs, extrajudicial killings and other illicit activities.
The former PNP chief turned senator alleged that the quad committee’s investigation into Duterte’s war on drugs is not being undertaken in aid of legislation but supposedly “in aid of persecution, in aid of demolition.”
The senator, who implemented Duterte’s bloody war on drugs during the early years of his presidency, has said he was “angry” at Acop for saying that he was part of the scheme to fool the public by making it appear that the drug war was meant to end the menace.
Acop, in presenting a summary of the committee’s findings during the quad panel’s year end hearing last Thursday night, said the Duterte administration’s brutal war on drugs served as a cover for a “grand criminal enterprise,” under which the former president and his inner circle enabled and profited from the illegal drug trade which they vowed to eliminate.
He cited, among other testimonies, the statement of former police intelligence officer Col. Eduardo Acierto, who tagged the former President and Senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Dela Rosa as allegedly “key figures in protecting the illegal drugs network in the Philippines.”
Acop echoed the testimony of Acierto who said that one of Duterte’s right-hand men “branded him as the lord of all drug lords.” “This is deeply painful because Duterte won on a platform of a hardline stance against illegal drugs and criminality, only for him to be the face of illegal drugs and criminality himself,” he said.
“We go by the pieces of evidence presented in the hearings. There’s no speculation or hearsay,” Acop said. “Witnesses like Col. Acierto and others came forward voluntarily to share what they know. If anything, these testimonies are being scrutinized because they were ignored during Duterte’s time. Now, the guilty parties are feeling the pressure and are trying to deflect,” he also said.
Dela Rosa has also challenged Acop, who is also a former police general, to meet him before a church altar to find out who between them is really telling the truth.
“How dare you, Mr. Acop?” he said to which Acop replied: “How dare I? I dare because this is my responsibility – to uncover the truth and ensure accountability. Everything I said during the summation is fully backed by the findings of the quad comm, based on testimonies and evidence from 13 hearings.”
“These findings are not speculation or personal opinion. If Sen. Dela Rosa has contrary evidence, let him present it. Otherwise, his accusations are baseless,” Acop said.
Acop, who is also a lawyer, slammed Dela Rosa’s behavior, saying it violates a long-standing tradition of respect within the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), of which both are products of.
“It’s a no-no for someone of the lower class in the PMA to disrespect a member of the upper class,” Acop said. “Sen. Dela Rosa should remember that respect begets respect. If he truly believes in this value, he should engage in proper discourse and refrain from emotional outbursts and theatrics, like invoking religion to avoid accountability.”
Acop said Dela Rosa criticized former Sen. Antonio Trillanes, a former Navy officer, for allegedly disrespecting him in the past and “yet he is committing the same mistakes now.”
“This investigation is not about personalities – it is about uncovering the truth and seeking justice for the victims of the bloody anti-drug campaign,” he said. “Why is he so angry? Discourse is part of politics. If he believes the evidence is wrong, he should challenge it with facts, not emotion. The process demands respect, and anger will not change the truth.”
‘MINION’
Acop also questioned former presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo’s authority to speak on the quad panel’s findings on behalf of Duterte, calling him a mere “minion of the former president.”
He said that while Panelo is entitled to his opinion, “his statements are baseless and uninformed.” “He just attended a single hearing when former President Duterte appeared, so he has absolutely no grasp of the overwhelming evidence and damning testimonies presented before the committee,” Acop said.
“Bakit hindi ang dating Presidente mismo ang magpaliwanag? Abogado ba siya ni dating President Duterte? Ang alam ko, si Atty. Martin Delgra ang opisyal na abogado niya (Why can’t the former president, himself, explain? Is he [Panelo] the lawyer of former president Duterte? I thought Atty. Martin Delgra is his official counsel?),” he added.
Acop pointed out that the former president’s own statements had often incriminated him, adding that he said “things that aligned with the evidence we uncovered, particularly on extrajudicial killings.”
