MANILA, Philippines – Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa urged Father Flavie Villanueva to stop misinterpreting his words for propaganda purposes. Fr. Villanueva currently cares for 312 people who he says are innocent victims of the brutal war on drugs under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

Responding to his own statement where he remarked that “shit happens,” Dela Rosa clarified, “Nangyari na yan, na hindi dapat nangyari. Patay yung bata, tinamaan. Really, shit happens.”

He urged Fr. Villanueva to “stop capitalizing my words for propaganda purposes. Masama po yan. Do not take my word out of context para i-propagandize yung issue.”

The senator also expressed frustration with how the media has portrayed him, stating, “Iba na si Bato, demonyo na. Masaya pa dahil namatay yung bata.”

Dela Rosa went on to question Fr. Villanueva’s past drug use, as Villanueva had previously admitted to abusing “shabu” from the age of 16, continuing for 15 years.

In response to Dela Rosa’s claim of using him for propaganda, Fr. Villanueva stated that he was not fabricating the issue.

“When you said that you do not intend to hurt the feelings of the bereaved, by the word itself, you already did,” Fr. Villanueva said, directing his statement to Dela Rosa during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Subcommittee on the Philippine War on Illegal Drugs hearing.

Dela Rosa, aiming to clarify issues surrounding the war on drugs, said, “It is my duty to tell the truth, and as I do so, witness the web of lies come undone, one thread at a time.”

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