Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa (Filkel photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
MANILA, Philippines — “Wow, insensitive? You’re the ones who are insensitive to me.”
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a reelectionist, made this remark in an ambush interview on Thursday, referring to the public, which he said was putting malice in the term “tokhang” – a portmanteau word derived from Cebuano words “toktok” (to knock) and “hangyo” (to plead).
Dela Rosa was asked whether or not his earlier statement that he was going to was “insensitive.”
“You gave ‘tokhang’ a bad meaning. It’s a good word. You’re the ones who are insensitive to Davao residents who have experienced the benefits of tokhang,” dela Rosa answered in Filipino.
“That was not insensitive [of me]. You were the ones who became insensitive to the PNP [Philippine National Police], which did its best to implement ang tokhang. What’s the meaning of tokhang? Toktok and hangyo — knock and pleading. What’s insensitive about it?” he added.
Being Rodrigo Duterte’s former top cop, dela Rosa was also the chief implementer of the former president’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs — which landed him on the roster of Duterte administration officials who were accused of crimes against humanity by drug war victims-families before the International Criminal Court.