Let’s see if he learns his lesson this time.
After igniting a social media firestorm, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was ordered yesterday by his colleagues to personally show up in the legislative body’s next hearing.
In a hybrid session, Senate President Vicente Sotto, who was leading the discussion from the legislative branch’s office in Pasay City, told his colleagues, “There is a directive being ordered by Senators [Panfilo] Lacson, [Francis] Tolentino, [Sherwin] Gatchalian, and myself, we are hereby directing Senator Bato dela Rosa to attend the session on Monday physically because he is becoming very popular in social media.”
Read: Insensitive? Senator Dela Rosa slammed by netizens for ‘Sarap buhay’ joke
“So you can enjoy the birthday snacks of Senator Ping Lacson [which will be given] on Monday,” Sotto added.
“I will comply Mr. President,” dela Rosa, who was attending the session virtually, readily answered.
After chuckling for a few seconds, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri told Sotto in English and Filipino, “Mr. President, [do that] so that his statement is ‘Life is hard’ because he had to work in the Senate until 10pm.”
Dela Rosa was lambasted by the public after he joked that lawmakers were having the “good life” (“sarap ng buhay”) because some of them were attending sessions virtually through Cisco Webex. What rankled Filipinos was the fact that hundreds have died of COVID-19 in the country, while millions have lost their jobs due to the lockdown. The joke was tone-deaf, they said, especially when made during a time of widespread suffering.
Read: ‘Sh*t happens’: Senator de la Rosa defends anti-drug op that killed 3-year-old girl
The erring neophyte politician said, however, that he simply meant that working at the Senate has become more efficient thanks to technology. But this isn’t the first time dela Rosa has been lambasted for his off-the-cuff statements. In July 2019 he tried to downplay the death of a child in a police operation gone wrong by saying, “Sh*t happens during operations. I admit, there are instances wherein during the course of operations, honest to goodness there will be collateral damage.”
Perhaps think before you speak next time, Senator dela Rosa?
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