Gov't execs who helped Bato dela Rosa escape face ban from public office — Carpio

Government officials who will be found guilty of helping Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa escape the Senate following the May 13 shooting at the legislative chamber will be barred from holding public office, former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio said Friday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Carpio said, "If you help in preventing the arrest of a person with a warrant of arrest... that is obstruction of justice. Ang accessory penalty niyan if you are convicted, perpetual disqualification to hold office if you are a public officer."

(If you help in preventing the arrest of a person with a warrant of arrest... that is obstruction of justice. The accessory penalty of that for a public officer, if convicted, is perpetual disqualification to hold office.)

The Philippine National Police confirmed Tuesday that Dela Rosa fled the Senate premises in a vehicle registered to Senator Robin Padilla just hours after the shooting incident.

Padilla has admitted in an interview that the vehicle caught on video departing the Senate in the early hours of May 14 belongs to him.

Earlier on Friday, Padilla denied helping Dela Rosa supposedly escape, as the latter only asked to hitch a ride with him out of the Senate premises.

Legal basis

Aside from individuals who helped with Dela Rosa's escape, Carpio also said officials may also be held accountable for putting the senator under the Senate's protective custody.

"Wala namang legal animal na protective custody e. Ang immunity lang ng mga senador at congressman, well, Congress is in session, and the crime is punishable by less than six years imprisonment. Ito more than 6 years ito eh," Carpio said.

(There is no legal animal that pertains to protective custody. Senators and congressmen only have immunity when, well, the Congress is in session, and the crime is punishable by less than six years imprisonment. Dela Rosa's case is more than six years.)

"Kahit may session ay pwede siyang damputin, puwede siyang arestuhin," he added.

("Even if the session is ongoing, he can be arrested.")

According to the former justice, the Department of Justice or the Office of the Ombudsman can file a complaint against accountable officials for obstruction of justice.

On May 11, Dela Rosa appeared at the Senate for the first time since November 2025. He disappeared from the public eye after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for his arrest in relation to former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

The Senate resolution granting this motion was approved after the Senate coup that installed Senator Allan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate president. — VDV, GMA News