Bato: Duterte’s 'kill' remark vs senators just a joke

Reelectionist Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Sunday defended former President Rodrigo Duterte following his controversial "kill" remark against incumbent senators, saying the latter was just joking around and did not literally mean what he said. 

Dela Rosa, a candidate of the Duterte-backed PDP Laban, laughed off the criticisms of the former president’s statement as “there’s no truth” to them. 

“Hay! Hanggang ngayon... ‘di pa niyo kilala si Pangulong Duterte, ‘no? Hanggang ngayon, ganoon pa rin? Ganoong statement, bigyan niyo ng weight? Klaro naman ‘yun na biro,” dela Rosa said in an exclusive ambush interview at an event in Quezon City.

(Sigh! Until now, you still don’t know former President Duterte? Until now, you give weight to such statements? He’s clearly just joking.)

“Kung talagang totoo... gusto niyang pumatay ng 15 na senador, bakit niya i-announce? Klarong-klaro na nagpapatawa siya,” added dela Rosa, who served as the head of the Philippine National Police during Duterte's term as president. 

(If he really means it, that he wants 15 senators killed, why would he announce it? It’s very clear that he was just kidding.)

Duterte made the controversial remark during the PDP-Laban proclamation rally, where he, along with his children, Vice President Sara Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, formally endorsed nine senatorial candidates for the 2025 midterm elections. 

"Patayin natin ‘yung mga senador ngayon para mabakante. Kung makapatay tayo ng mga 15  na senador, pasok na tayong lahat... Talking of opportunities, the only way to do it is pasabugin na lang natin,” said the former President. 

(Let’s kill the senators now to vacate the seats. If we can eliminate 15 senators, we can all get in... Talking of opportunities, the only way to do it is to just blow them up.)

In a separate interview, reelectionist Senator Bong Go defended Duterte, saying he wasn’t surprised by the former President’s remarks, as he knew they were meant as a joke.

“Alam naman nating joke talaga yun. Kaya ako hindi na ako nagtataka dahil alam kong joke talaga yun,” he said. 

(We all know that was just a joke. That’s why I’m not surprised—I knew it was only a joke.)

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday indirectly responded to his predecessor’s remarks during a campaign rally in Duterte's stronghold of Davao del Norte.

Marcos expressed concern over rhetoric that normalizes violence as a political tool.

"Narinig lang natin nung isang araw, wala daw pag-asa siguro... wala silang pag-asa kaya papatay na lang sila ng 15 senador. Sabagay, mahirap naman ang ibang tao, ang iniisip lang nila ang kaisa-isang solusyon sa lahat ng problema ay pumatay pa ng Pilipino. Nakakapagtaka kung bakit ganoon," Marcos added.

(We just heard the other day that they said there’s no hope—maybe because they have no hope themselves, so they would rather eliminate 15 senators. Then again, it's troubling that some people think the only solution to all problems is to kill more Filipinos. It’s puzzling why they think that way.)

Several incumbent senators, including Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, also reacted to Duterte’s remark. —RF/DVM, GMA Integrated News

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