Sen. Ronald 鈥淏ato鈥� Dela Rosa during the hearing of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality on October 8, 2024. Photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� ACT Teachers party-list on Sunday denounced Senator Ronald 鈥淏ato鈥� dela Rosa鈥檚 鈥渄iscriminatory and insensitive remarks鈥� against Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cenda帽a, a stroke survivor.
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro and former Rep. Antonio Tinio criticized Dela Rosa鈥檚 statement mocking Cenda帽a鈥檚 facial appearance, calling it 鈥渃ruel鈥� and a 鈥渄istraction鈥� from critical issues.
Dela Rosa鈥檚 comment was in response to Cenda帽a鈥檚 reaction to impeached Vice President Sara Duterte鈥檚 remark that losing a partner is more painful than being impeached by the House of Representatives.
鈥淵our face looks as though it has been punched, that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 skewed,鈥� Dela Rosa said in Bisaya. 鈥淐ome here so I can punch the other side of your face and make it balanced.鈥�
READ: Dela Rosa draws flak for mocking stroke survivor Cenda帽a
Castro said Dela Rosa鈥檚 comment has 鈥渘o place in political discourse,鈥� which should be focused on issues.
鈥淪enator Dela Rosa鈥檚 remarks are not only cruel but also reflect the kind of toxic politics that the Dutertes represent,鈥� Castro said in Filipino.
She added that instead of addressing corruption and abuse of power raised in the impeachment complaint against the Vice President, Dela Rosa resorted to personal attacks by mocking Cenda帽a鈥檚 facial appearance.
Tinio, meanwhile, called Dela Rosa鈥檚 actions 鈥渦nbecoming鈥� of a lawmaker.
鈥淏ato should stick to the issues at hand. What he did was too below the belt and not befitting of a senator,鈥� Tinio said in a mix of English and Filipino.
鈥淭hen again, the vice president and president (former president Rodrigo Duterte)聽he is defending don鈥檛 exactly exhibit proper conduct either,鈥� he added.
Tino also questioned whether Dela Rosa was trying to divert attention from the controversies surrounding former President Duterte and Vice President Duterte.
鈥淚s this how desperate the Duterte camp has become?聽Is Senator dela Rosa struggling so much to defend the Dutertes that he resorts to such shallow tactics to divert the issue?鈥� he asked.
Castro further stressed that Dela Rosa鈥檚 behavior and Vice President Duterte鈥檚 statement on her impeachment聽show a disregard for democratic institutions and proper discourse.
鈥淚nstead of addressing the serious allegations in the impeachment complaint, they resort to trivializing the process and attacking critics personally,鈥� Castro added.
READ: Dela Rosa apologizes for mocking stroke survivor Cenda帽a
Earlier on Sunday, Dela Rosa apologized after his comment mocking Cenda帽a鈥檚 facial appearance stirred backlash.
鈥淭he past few days have weighed heavily on Filipinos, especially among us Mindanaoans and other Cebuano-speaking people. Many people were angry, and because I empathized with their anger, I was able to say words that were not nice and hurt the feelings of others,鈥� his statement reads.
鈥淚 apologize for what I said and did, particularly in failing to see the bigger picture. My apologies to Congressman Perci Cenda帽a for my offensive comments on his person. I wish him good health. I make no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt my words have caused,鈥� he added.