By Brian Campued
Malacañang has dismissed online rumors that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had been arrested, calling the claims as a “diversionary tactic” meant to shift public attention away from the latest revelations in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a message to Malacañang reporters on Wednesday, Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro urged the public to exercise vigilance amid unverified social media posts, referring to claims made by Atty. Jimmy Bondoc and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, both of whom were Duterte’s allies.
“Bago po ang ating mga kababayan na maniwala sa mga usap-usapan, alamin natin yung source? Ano ang motibo ng mga nagpapakalat?” Usec. Castro asked.
“Mapapansin na walang laman at walang konteksto ang pinapakalat nina Atty. Bondoc at Roque about Sen. Bato,” she added.
She pointed out that the “timing” of the posts was intended to cover up the Commission on Audit’s (COA) latest revelations regarding the undocumented spending of million-peso worth of confidential funds by Vice President Sara Duterte at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
During the impeachment trial on Tuesday, former COA – Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office (ICFAO) state auditor Atty. Roderick Wamil flagged the disbursements made by the OVP and DepEd for lacking proper supporting documents, bypassing guidelines in Joint Circular No. 2015-01, and charging non-allowable expenses like medical and food aid, incentives or travel.
The OVP received P125 million in confidential funds for three quarters in 2022, while DepEd was allocated P37.5 million per quarter in 2023.
“Makikita ang motibo sa ginagawang diversionary tactic ng mga kaalyado ni VP Sara. Maging mapanuri,” Usec. Castro said.
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Wednesday said that there has been no arrest for Sen. Bato and that his last known location was in Mindanao.
“There was a lot of speculations na nahuli na siya, na he’s being whisked away to The Hague, hindi po totoo ‘yan,” Sec. Remulla told the media.
He assured that the DILG is closely coordinating with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other law enforcement agencies to hunt down Sec. dela Rosa, who has a standing warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in relation to the crimes against humanity charges against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) separately denied reports that Dela Rosa was already arrested. (with reports from Clay Pardilla, Ryan Lesigues, and Sheila Natividad / PTV News)
-jpv
