I was scrolling through Facebook one night when a post caught my eye—a strange photo of a pile of stones with the caption: Can you figure what it says?
The image looked like an optical illusion. Some people said it made them dizzy. Others, after staring long enough, finally saw the hidden words:
“The stones will cry out.”
I paused.
Something about that line hit me deep—especially in these days when the name Bato once again dominates the headlines.
A Nation Waiting for Accountability
Senator Ronald Bato Dela Rosa, once the fierce general who spearheaded former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, now finds himself facing the very shadow of international justice. Reports say the International Criminal Court (ICC) may have issued a warrant for his arrest for crimes against humanity. Whether confirmed or not, it has thrown the country into a moral crossroad.
And here’s the hard truth: if that warrant is real, the Philippines must cooperate. And Bato—if he truly stands by his word—must face the ICC.
The Social Cost of Hiding
If Bato chooses to hide—especially under the Senate’s protective umbrella—it sends a devastating message: that power shields those who commit grave abuses. It would crush what little hope the victims’ families still hold, and embolden others to repeat the same cruelty.
Impunity breeds more blood. And when justice is mocked, the nation’s moral core weakens. That’s when anger festers into unrest.
The Political Fallout
The world is watching.
If our government shrugs off the ICC’s call, we risk being seen as a nation allergic to accountability. Countries that once treated us as partners might turn away. Isolation isn’t just diplomatic—it’s moral. How can we claim to uphold democracy if we refuse to answer for the blood spilled in its name?
The Economic Consequences
Investors read not just market charts but moral signals. No one wants to pour money into a country seen as indifferent to human rights. A damaged reputation means fewer partnerships, fewer exports, fewer jobs. Even industries built by honest laborers can suffer from the sins of those who played god with other people' lives.
Bato’s game of hide-and-seek with the ICC would not just be a political theater—it would be a reckless move that would risk deepening our already fragile economy.
The Personal Reckoning
Back in March, Bato spoke with bravado:
“I am ready to join the old man (Duterte) hoping that they would allow me to take care of him."
Those weren’t just words—they were a declaration of loyalty, of word of honor. But now, that word is being tested.
The Duterte Diehard Supporters, who once chanted his name, are watching closely. If he turns his back on that vow, they might start to see him differently—not as the loyal warrior, but as the man who ran when the real battle for truth began.
The Spiritual Dimension
And that brings me back to those stones: The stone will cry out.
In Luke 19:40, Jesus says these words as He enters Jerusalem, when the crowd is silenced by fear and oppression. It’s a prophecy—that truth, no matter how buried, finds its own voice.
Could it be that Bato himself—whose name literally means stone—is being called to cry out? To speak the truth not just for himself, but for the countless voiceless who perished under the banner of his war?
Bato once admitted in an interview:
“I am afraid of going to jail. Takot ako na makulong dahil kawawa ang mga apo ko at hindi ko na makikita.”
But perhaps that fear is where redemption begins. It foreshadows Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
If he truly loves his grandchildren, he must tell the truth. Because real freedom doesn’t come from escaping prison—it comes from facing the truth.
When Truth Finally Speaks
History has a strange way of surfacing what people try to bury. The cries of the slain, the tears of mothers, the silence of fear—all these are the stones beginning to cry out.
And maybe that’s the real message for Bato and for us all: when the stones start to speak, it’s not too late to listen—and to answer with truth.
Justice, however, delayed, will always find a voice.
And this time, that voice might just sound like the breaking of a heart that has finally chosen to tell the truth.
Content & editing put together in collaboration with ChatGPT
Head photo courtesy of GMA Network; design by Canva
Still photos courtesy of Facebook, Kapwing, Freepik, Canva, getrealpundit, Bulatlat, & Instagram
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