Metro Manila, Philippines – National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag on Friday, May 22, said Sen. Bato dela Rosa, tagged by the government as a fugitive, is still in the country.
In a briefing on Friday, May 22, Matibag said the bureau is firm on enforcing the warrant against the senator at large.
“Pero hinahanap namin siya ngayon. That is the problem now because of yung nangyari na protective custody ng Senate,” he said.
“Wala pa naman report ang Bureau of Immigration na lumabas siya so if we base it on that, nandito pa siya,” Matibag added.
[Translation: But we are looking for him now. That’s the problem, because of what happened with the protective custody of the Senate…The Bureau of Immigration has not yet reported that he left. So if we base it on that, he is still here.]
However, Matibag noted the country’s porous borders for entry and exit.
Not an escape
Sen. Robin Padilla, seen on security camera footage leaving the Senate parking hours after the Senate standoff, denied helping his ally evade arrest.
“Paano kami tatakas? Ang daming pulis sa loob at labas ng Senado, may CCTV pa. Wala namang humarang sa amin, [How can we escape? There’s so many officers inside and outside the Senate. There’s also the CCTV. No one blocked us],” Padilla said.
Padilla rejected calls that the ICC-wanted senator is a “fugitive from justice,” saying he could not accept the labeling.
“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,” he said.
[Translation: For me, he is not a fugitive. I can’t accept that we just call it that because a foreigner said so. We also need to respect our own process as a country.]
Dela Rosa is at large and evading an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over his participation as national police chief during the bloody anti-drug campaign of the Duterte administration.
