Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa slammed the critics of anti-terror bill who insisted to junk the controversial measure because of possible abuses.
In an interview with DZBB, Dela Rosa challenged the critics to junk the anti-terror bill, but reminded them not to blame the government if ever that they become a victim of terrorists.
“Sige, i-junk ninyo. Gusto n’yo i-junk? Junk ninyo. Kapag kayo ay naging biktima ng terorista, sumabog ang bomba dyan, may namatay sa mahal sa buhay ninyo, o kayo mismo, huwag ninyong sisihin ang gobyerno na hindi gumagawa ng paraan para mahinto ang terrorism, para masawata ang terrorism,” Dela Rosa said.
“Sige, gusto n’yo another Marawi siege? Go ahead! Gusto n’yo ng another Zamboanga siege? Go ahead! Gusto n’yo bombing kaliwa-kanan? Go ahead! I-junk natin ito, basta huwag ninyong sisihin ang gobyerno kapag nagka-leche leche tayo sa terrorism dito,” he added.
Dela Rosa who’s one of the co-authors of the anti-terror bill reiterated his message to the critics that they’re not going to face any problems if they’re law-abiding once the measure becomes law.
“Itong anti-terror bill na ito, kung ikaw ay law-abiding citizen at ayaw na ayaw mo ng terorismo, you will rejoice when this bill is signed into law,” he said.
“Pero kung ikaw ay terorista o kaya’y supporter ng mga terorista, dapat matakot ka sa batas na ito. Kailangang-kailangan talaga natin itong batas na ito,” he added.
He also urged the public not to listen to the disinformation campaign launched by the critics, believing that the bill would badly affect the New People’s Army (NPA).
“Huwag kayong makinig diyan sa nagdi-disinformation dahil alam ko grabe ang disinformation na ginagawa ngayon dito, lalo na ng mga kaliwa, dahil alam nila na tatamaan ang NPA sa batas na ito,” Dela Rosa who’s also a former PNP chief stated.
“Kaya talagang nagkukumahog sila na sirain ang batas na ito, hindi maisabatas dahil alam nila na tatamaan ang NPA. Kaya basahin n’yo ang batas [para] mawala ang agam-agam n’yo,” he added.
In a past interview, Dela Rosa explained that they already put enough safeguards to the bill to prevent government officials from abusing it.
Dela Rosa also narrated how a member of ISIS that they already put under their custody gained his freedom because of the short reglementary period given to them by the current law.
“Very clear na ang activism is not terrorism, nakalagay ‘yan dito, kahit anong pananaw mo sa buhay walang problema ‘yan, we respect your ideology kung ano ang pinaglalaban mo basta wag ka lang talagang magbigay ng material support sa NPA, wag kang magbigay ng tulong doon, pero mag express ka lang ng dissent, walang problema ‘yan, kahit na sabihin mo ‘gobyerno ay salbahe, Duterte sira ulo’ kahit anong sabihin niyo wala yan,” he said.