Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan has denied calling for a resolution that will urge a shoot-to-kill order against Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa should he fail to surrender to authorities, saying that the claim was fabricated.
In a statement on Monday, Suan said he had neither threatened to call a House committee hearing nor proposed a resolution urging authorities to kill the senator if he failed to surrender in connection with an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
‘As a lawyer and public servant, I believe firmly in due process and the rule of law,’ Suan said, stressing that he would not support any action that promotes violence or undermines democratic principles.
Dela Rosa is facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the drug war under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. He served as the Philippine National Police chief under the former president and is accused of allowing extrajudicial killings during anti-drug operations.
The former PNP chief has a P50-million bounty on his head and has been declared a fugitive from justice by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Solicitor General.
Last Friday, PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Wilson Joseph Lopez told reporters that the police would take ‘appropriate’ legal measures to arrest the senator.
Suan’s office, meanwhile, forwarded to INQUIRER several of the fake quote cards attributed to the lawmaker.
‘The circulating claim is entirely fabricated. It has no basis in any official statement, interview, legislative action, or public remark of mine. Such disinformation is harmful not only to my name and office but to the public’s right to accurate information,’ Suan said.
‘I urge the public to verify information from credible and official sources before believing or sharing it. My official social media accounts and the channels of the House of Representatives remain the only reliable outlets for my positions and statements,’ he added.
This is not the first time that Suan, a member of the House prosecution team for Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, was targeted by fake social media quote cards.
As early as April 21 – or when the House committee on justice was tackling the two impeachment complaints against Vice President Duterte – Suan disputed a fake quote about him supposedly praising and touting Ramil Madriaga as a hero.
Madriaga is the vice president’s former aide who accused her of misusing and tinkering with the confidential funds, claiming that he was the one directed to transport and distribute the said allocations.
However, Suan said he did not issue such statements.
Suan has been questioned before about his decision to support Vice President Duterte’s impeachment, considering that he hails from Mindanao – a known bailiwick of the Dutertes.
In response, Suan said last May that, instead of being deterred, his being a Mindanaoan spurred him to back accountability calls and join the prosecution team. Suan explained that he took the job as a member of the prosecution team because funds under Duterte’s jurisdiction – which are now being questioned – were also paid by taxpayers from Mindanao.