No to selfies with butchers: Guam senators refuse to join Bato in visit to US territory

Former Police Chief Bato Dela Rosa’s gruesome record as President Rodrigo Duterte’s top enforcer in the bloody drug war continues to haunt him even after his appointment as chief of the Bureau of Corrections system.

In a report by the Guam Daily Post, dela Rosa’s was scheduled to make a courtresy visit to Guam’s Congress but this was canceled after senators moved to boycott the event scheduled Saturday, July 1.

A retired police general who was the top enforcer in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war has been disinvited from what would have been a meeting with local senators on Guam today.

Ronald Dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police chief and recently named director of the country’s Bureau of Prisons, had been scheduled to meet with Guam senators in the Guam Congress Building for what was initially called a “courtesy visit.”

“Sen. Dennis Rodriguez Jr., who initially sent out a schedule for senators to attend the courtesy visit, later canceled the event in a follow-up notice to his colleagues Friday afternoon,” the Guam Post said.

Rodriguez’s parents were from Paranaque City and is reportedly close to dela Rosa. Rodriguez is reportedly planning to run for governor of Guam.

But Rodriguez had no choice but to disinvite dela Rosa after Sen. Telena Nelson, the chairwoman of the legislative committee overseeing public safety, opposed dela Rosa’s visit which she said was in bad taste.

“Earlier this week, Senator Rodriguez notified me of a potential courtesy visit involving

an unnamed public safety official from the Philippines. As is standard operating

procedure for my office, we agreed to cooperate with the Senator’s office wherever

practical. After being notified of the official in question, today I told Senator Rodriguez

that this visit sent the wrong message,” said Nelson in a statement.

“When numerous human rights organizations allege that thousands of lives were taken without due process, each of us have an obligation to say ‘no’ – not stand there for photos,” she added.

Dela Rosa, commonly known by his nickname “Bato,” or “Rock,” has been widely criticized in the Philippines and internationally for the trail of deaths in the country’s drug raids and arrests.

Human Rights Watch described Dela Rosa as someone who left behind “a police force with a sordid human rights record unmatched since the Marcos dictatorship.”

“As police chief, Dela Rosa deployed the forces that have waged President Rodrigo Duterte’s murderous ‘war on drugs,'” according to Human Rights Watch, which the organization said resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 men, women and children at the hands of police and police-backed vigilantes.

A Philippine delegation later disputed that, in part by telling the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that high numbers of killings were based on “alternative facts,” Philippine media reported.

In addition to a visit to the Guam Congress building, Dela Rosa was initially expected to visit Guam’s prison facilities.

Department of Corrections Director Tony Lamorena told The Guam Daily Post on June 28 that there was a request to tour DOC with Dela Rosa on Saturday.

Rodriguez’s office on Friday confirmed that Dela Rosa is expected on island, but not for official business. The tour of DOC would be a quick walk-through of the facility, his office stated.

Nelson said law enforcement officials on Guam and throughout the world “must protect the judicial system, not act outside of it.”

“When numerous human rights organizations allege that thousands of lives were taken without due process, each of us have an obligation to say ‘no’ – not stand there for photos,” Nelson said.

Rodriguez’s office has not responded to questions about Dela Rosa’s visit, nor has his campaign responded to Nelson’s press release. Rodriguez is a gubernatorial hopeful this election.