Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa on Thursday lost his temper and claimed that his blood pressure spiked after a student leader taunted the senator over his stance on the case of convicted Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez.
During the hearing of the Senate committee on basic education on the proposed mandatory ROTC for senior high school, committee chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian asked National Union of Students deputy secretary-general Raoul Manuel why he opposed the revival of the ROTC.
Manuel, however, took potshots at Dela Rosa for talking about love of country and patriotism in vouching for the passage of the mandatory ROTC.
Towards the end of his explanation, Manuel questioned the Senate panel on what they can expect if there’s a senator favoring Sanchez’s release, but has resorted to indiscriminate killings through “Oplan Tokhang.”
On hearing this, Dela Rosa flared up, “Ang layo naman noon. Bakit nagkaganun? What happened to your brains? That’s far?”
“You said that ROTC is a misrepresentation of nationalism. How do you see us? Is that the way you judged us? You will judge us in that way?”
Committee chairman Win Gatchalian told Manuel that he should not raised issues which have nothing to do with the mandatory ROTC.