Robin Padilla: Bato dela Rosa asked for a ride, got off in Makati after Senate shooting

Senator Robinhood Padilla maintained that he did not help Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa "escape," as the former police chief only asked to hitch a ride with him out of the Senate building after a shooting incident took place on its premises.

"Ang sabi ni Senator Bato, ‘Sasabay na ko.’ Alangan naming tanggihan ko yun? Walang sasakyan si Sen. Bato dahil inihatid lang sya sa Senado ng sasakyan ni Senador Alan Peter Cayetano,” Padilla said in a Net25 interview.

(Dela Rosa asked me if he can hitchhike a ride. Should I refuse him? He has no vehicle because he rode Senator Cayetano's vehicle when he arrived at the Senate.)

According to Padilla, Dela Rosa got off in Makati, where his own vehicle was supposedly waiting for him.

He added that he did not ask where Dela Rosa was going.

Fugitive?

Padilla, meanwhile, also rejected the "fugitive" tag on Dela Rosa.

“Para sa akin, hindi siya fugitive. Hindi ko matanggap na basta na lang natin tatawaging ganoon dahil sinabi ng dayuhan. Kailangan din nating igalang ang sarili nating proseso bilang bansa,” said Padilla.

(For me, he cannot be considered a fugitive. I cannot accept they would just label him as that because the foreigners said so. We need to respect our country's process.)

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court (SC) denied Dela Rosa's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or status quo ante order (SQAO) in connection with his possible arrest based on the ICC warrant.

The following day, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the PNP and NBI have been directed to arrest Dela Rosa amid the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with the Duterte administration's drug war.

Dela Rosa served as Philippine National Police chief in 2016 at the height of the drug war.

After being gone from the public eye for several months, Dela Rosa resurfaced on May 11 at the Senate, but NBI agents attempted to serve the ICC arrest warrant against him.

Padilla said he stayed with Dela Rosa for three days but told the latter he needed to return home by Thursday following the shooting incident at the chamber. —VAL, GMA News