Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa lashed out at newly installed Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Tuesday, accusing his former leader of betrayal for allegedly facilitating an attempted arrest within the Senate halls.
The friction stems from the chaotic events of May 11, where Dela Rosa—appearing in public for the first time since November—successfully evaded arrest and “wrestled his way” into the session hall to cast a vote that successfully unseated Sotto from the Senate Presidency.
“Hindi lang yun pagtataksil sa kanyang colleague kungdi pagtataksil niya sa institusyon ng senado. Pinakitaan siya ng warrant of arrest na galing ICC, dapat tinanong niya saan dito ang corresponding local warrant of arrest.”
Dela Rosa further alleged that Sotto’s silence regarding the presence of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents was a calculated move to prevent his participation in the leadership shakeup.
“At siguro wala rin siyang sinabihan. May design talaga na talagang gusto niyang mahuli ako sa baba para di ako makaayat dito para hindi siya ma-unseat. I feel betrayed.”
Sotto defended his actions during Tuesday’s session, explaining that he merely received information from an NBI representative and followed standard protocol.
“Early in the morning, an NBI rep came to see me and told me they have a warrant of arrest for Sen. Dela Rosa. I said simply, I said coordinate with OSAA. As simple as that. I didn’t realize that he was coming. I didn’t know he was going to be there in afternoon. I just thought it was a simple information given the Senate President that a member of the Senate was being issued a warrant of arrest.”
Dela Rosa admitted his return was motivated by the vote against Sotto, potential impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, and a sense of duty after his long absence.
“Nahihiya na ko talaga. Hiyang hiya na ko. Wala po yan sa bokabularyo ko na makinabang ng pera ng gobyerno o kanino mang pera.”