Senator Ronald Dela Rosa on Wednesday challenged those behind the death threats on Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian to threaten him instead.
“You threaten me and not my fellow (senators) who are not accustomed to threats,” said Dela Rosa who was a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“They have been torturing people and now, they are threatening senators,” he said.
Believing that the threats could really come from a POGO, whom he tagged as a multi-billion industry like a drug industry and cartel, he insisted that Gatchalian should be well-secured.
Senate President Francis Escudero assured he will always help a fellow member of the Senate and stand ready to assist in whatever way he can if needed by them.
“They know that. However, the decision to engage additional security personnel is a personal one that I cannot make for them,” he said, previously providing additional security to Gatchalian when he asked during an ocular inspection of a POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.
The Senate is yet to provide him additional security on a daily basis, he added.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III advised Gatchalian and the other senators involved in the Senate investigation into the illicit activities of POGO and the alleged links of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo o Guo Hua Ping.
Gatchalian had asked Pasay police to investigate the alleged death threats against him and take swift action to ensure his safety and those associated with him.
Also threatened was Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality – who has been conducting the POGO hearings.
Gatchalian said “these threats appear to be a consequence of my active participation in the investigation on POGO connected to Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban and the Guo family.”
The senator said he was informed by his staff about a video circulating online containing “explicit threats” directed at his personal safety and well-being.
He noted that the creation and online dissemination of this video has caused him substantial concern for his security, as well as the safety of those around him, particularly his family and staff.
The transcript of the video attached to the letter indicated that Guo allegedly paid her men P10 million to silence Gatchalian and Hontiveros.
