Over Bato's exit from Senate: Padilla, Aplasca may face raps

CEBU, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has tagged Senator Robin Padilla and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca as “persons of interest” in the disappearance of Senator Ronald 'Bato' Dela Rosa following his reported exit from the Senate compound early Thursday morning.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag also said Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano should be held accountable for how Dela Rosa managed to leave the Senate premises just hours after gunshots erupted inside the building, causing panic and confusion in the chamber.

“Someone asked me how we would find Sen. Bato, and I said the first person to be asked is Sen. Robin Padilla because he’s the last person who was with him,” Matibag said in an interview with One PH’s “One Balita Pilipinas” on Friday. “There’s already closed-circuit television footage.”

He added that Aplasca should also be questioned since he oversees Senate security operations.

“To a certain extent, they are persons of interest in the disappearance of Sen. Bato Dela Rosa,” Matibag said.

The Office of the Ombudsman has already placed Aplasca under preventive suspension for six months following the Senate standoff Wednesday night.

Matibag said Cayetano should likewise explain the circumstances surrounding Dela Rosa’s escape because the Senate had earlier placed the senator under “protective custody” while authorities sought to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

“This means they commit to protect him. At the same time, if a competent authority will need the presence of Senator Bato, they should be the ones who’ll release him,” the NBI chief stressed.

Although Matibag acknowledged that “protective custody” has no clear legal basis, he said he had entered into a “gentleman’s agreement” with Cayetano after NBI agents attempted to arrest Dela Rosa earlier this week.

The NBI chief also denied allegations that agents tried to seize Dela Rosa again on Wednesday, saying the senator’s movements were not restricted while the Supreme Court of the Philippines deliberates on his petition seeking to invalidate the ICC warrant.

Matibag said locating Dela Rosa is not the bureau’s immediate priority.

“What we are looking at is the case in the Supreme Court,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said Padilla could face charges of obstruction of justice and aiding a fugitive for allegedly helping Dela Rosa leave Senate custody despite the ICC warrant tied to crimes against humanity allegations stemming from the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

“Obstruction of justice, harboring a criminal fugitive, aiding and abetting a criminal fugitive — malinaw po sa akin ’yan,” De Lima said.

Cayetano earlier confirmed that Padilla accompanied Dela Rosa when they left the Senate in the early hours of May 14 following the gunfire incident.

De Lima also called for an independent investigation into the Senate’s handling of Dela Rosa, including the decision to place him under protective custody and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.

“Nakakalungkot at nakakagigil, at there has to be an investigation. And it has to be an independent investigation,” she said, arguing that the Senate cannot credibly investigate itself because the controversy involves actions taken within the institution.

“Kung binigyan ng protective custody, bakit nakawala? So ang daming mga tanong na dapat sagutin sa isang tunay, isang independent na investigation,” she added.

De Lima proposed that retired members of the judiciary and other independent personalities lead the probe to preserve the integrity and credibility of the Senate as a democratic institution.

She also rejected claims that the ICC warrant first needed to be converted into a domestic warrant before it could be enforced in the Philippines.

“This is a validly issued warrant of arrest by a tribunal, an international tribunal of competent jurisdiction,” De Lima said, citing Republic Act No. 9851 as legal basis for the state to surrender a person facing investigation or prosecution before an international tribunal.

For his part, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Percy Cendaña accused Duterte allies in the Senate of maneuvering to shield Dela Rosa while also protecting Vice President Sara Duterte from accountability.

“Nakita natin kung paano nagmaniubra yung mga kampon ni Duterte para protektahan ang isang pugante,” Cendaña said.

“So we have here an institution of government that just coddles fugitives but also acts as a protector of those who violate the law and those who abuse power,” he added. (CEBU NEWS)