While other public officials are being critized by the netizens for their sudden disappearance amid the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines, one Senator who’s currently on self-quarantine decided to help silently .
A few weeks ago, several critics of Dela Rosa trended #NasanSiBato to ask the whereabouts of the popular Senator.
However, the critics were not aware that the team of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa visited several provinces in the Philippines to send relief goods, cooked food and personal protective equipment (PPEs) to hospitals and other places to assist the frontliners.
MMDA Spokesperson Celine Pialago also made a Facebook live video to inform the netizens that Sen. Dela Rosa doesn’t forget to help the Filipinos amid the crisis.
“Alam niyo ba kung nasaan si Senator Bato Dela Rosa? Tumutulong po siya ng tahimik, tumutulong ng walang hinihintay na kapalit. Nagdonate po ang ating Senador Bato ng mahigit 55 na sako ng bigas sa Malasakit Movement. Nasa mahigit po 1,375 na pamilya ang mabibigyan ng ayuda dahil dito,” Pialago said.
Sen. Bato couldn’t personally deliver the relief goods in different provinces because of the enhanced community quarantine rules and if he even insisted, his family would force him to stay at home.
In a Facebook post, Dela Rosa’s daughter, Marianne Kristel said that they locked up the Senator in his room because he insisted to go out.
“Sorry, Philippines if we had to keep him away from the public eye for a few days. He was exposed to ALL senators who tested positive so we had to tie him up to a chair, lock him in his room and isolate him from the rest of the world.” she said.
While being locked at home, Dela Rosa decided to do other things like cooking.
Dela Rosa is currently in Davao City, saying that he’s fortunate to catch a flight before the enhanced community quarantine started.
“Mabuti nakalipad pa ‘ko pauwi dito. Then after that, nagkaroon na ng enhanced community quarantine, so wala na, wala ng byahe,” he said in an interview on CNN Philippines.