Bato and Robin: Two types of absence

Why is everybody so hot against Sen. Bato dela Rosa?

- RONALD LLAMAS

He continues to work. He has good staff. His office is still functioning.”This was the statement issued by Sen. Robin Padilla, brimming, as always, with insight and wisdom, in defense of Bato, after the latter was widely criticized for deciding to go into hiding for several months now following rumors of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

Bato’s decision to live the life of a fugitive, despite not being hunted by any authority, domestic or international, is not only profoundly hilarious in its irony; it also exposed his extreme cowardice. The former top cop, who built his public image on tough-guy bravado much like his patron, ICC prisoner Rodrigo Duterte, scurried into hiding like a rat burrowing into a hole based on nothing more than a rumor. But then again, what do we really expect from a guy who once ran away from a firecracker, leaving behind his men?

By hiding, Bato abandoned his duties as a senator and betrayed the trust placed in him by the voters, prioritizing his self-preservation over public service. That it is Robin who has taken it upon himself to defend Bato’s hiding says a lot about the deafening lack of support for his vanishing act within the Senate. The former action star insists that Bato is not on vacation, but is instead engaged in a noble struggle to protect his human rights against a foreign power. Cute.

But what are Bato’s rights that need protecting? Bato is not being hunted. He is not under arrest. He is not charged. He is not even, strictly speaking, an outlaw. What is clear is that he is reneging on his job, while shamelessly continuing to collect his salary as a senator.