MANILA — Sen. Robinhood Padilla has been ordered to answer an obstruction of justice complaint over the disappearance of Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who left the Senate compound aboard Padilla’s vehicle while authorities were seeking to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.
Padilla confirmed Wednesday that he received a subpoena from the Department of Justice (DOJ), requiring him to appear before a panel of prosecutors and submit his counter-affidavit and supporting evidence on September 25 and October 9.
Rather than expressing concern over the investigation, Padilla said he was “elated” by the development.
“Ako ay naligayahan dahil alam naman natin na itong binabato sa atin ay galing sa dayuhan. Parang ang aking pagiging Katipunero ay nabibigyang-buhay,” Padilla said during a press briefing.
He added, “Hindi ako nalungkot. Malamang lawyer ko nalugmok pero ako ay naligayahan,”
The subpoena stems from a complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) accusing Padilla and several others of allegedly helping dela Rosa evade arrest.
The CIDG filed the complaint with the DOJ in August. The department earlier said the complaint was being evaluated to determine whether there was sufficient basis to proceed with a preliminary investigation.
Dela Rosa, who is wanted by the ICC in connection with alleged crimes against humanity arising from the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, had been placed under Senate protective custody after authorities attempted to serve the warrant against him.
He later left the Senate compound aboard Padilla’s vehicle on May 14 and has not been seen publicly since. Padilla previously maintained that he did not help dela Rosa escape and that the former police chief merely asked to hitch a ride out of the Senate building.
Padilla said he received the DOJ subpoena on Tuesday.
He also expressed a preference for the complaint against him to be brought before the ICC rather than handled by Philippine authorities.
“Sana dalhin niyo na lang sa ICC ang kaso. Tutal sila ang sinasabi na dun ako nagkaroon ng pagkakamali. Para naman medyo mataas ang pride ko. Proud ako na talagang dayuhan ang kalaban ko,” he said.
The ICC, however, prosecutes genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The obstruction of justice complaint against Padilla is a separate domestic proceeding being investigated by Philippine authorities.
Padilla is also facing a separate obstruction of justice complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with dela Rosa’s departure from the Senate./PN
