A COALITION of civil society and pro-democracy groups filed an obstruction of justice complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against two senators and a Senate official over allegations they helped prevent the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa, who is being sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Tindig Pilipinas on Wednesday filed the complaint against Senate President Alan Peter S. Cayetano, Senator Robinhood Ferdinand C. Padilla and suspended Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao R. Aplasca.
The complainants alleged that the respondents used their official positions to frustrate law enforcement efforts linked to the implementation of an ICC warrant against Mr. dela Rosa over crimes against humanity allegations tied to the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
Francis Joseph Aquino Dee, convenor of Tindig Pilipinas, said the respondents coordinated actions that allowed Mr. dela Rosa to avoid arrest during chaotic events inside the Senate in early May.
Mr. Dee alleged that the respondents used the authority of their offices to place Mr. dela Rosa under protective custody, facilitate his departure from the Senate building using a vehicle linked to Mr. Padilla and obstruct efforts to carry out the arrest, amid the violence that erupted inside the Senate that night.
“They managed to do all that using their office,” he told reporters in Filipino.
The complaint marks the first formal legal action connected to the incident.
The coalition also said that they have shared the details of their legal action with the ICC investigating the case.
He said that the document was provided as a courtesy and for information, given that the ICC is an involved party in matters concerning the implementation of the warrant.
Mr. Padilla’s chief of staff Rudolf Philip B. Jurado, the office of Mr. Cayetano, and Mr. Aplasca, through the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau, did not immediately reply to separate Viber messages seeking comment.
Mr. Padilla earlier denied claims that Mr. dela Rosa escaped, saying that leaving the Senate through exits monitored by closed-circuit television cameras and amid a heavy police presence could not be considered evasion.
Mr. Cayetano, meanwhile, previously said the senator had merely “chosen to leave.”
Mr. dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police chief and chief implementer of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing linked to the ICC investigation.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has recently referred a separate complaint against Mr. Padilla to the Department of Justice (DoJ) over the same incident.
Mr. Aplasca is also among those included in an independent Ombudsman investigation for discharging the first warning shots during the May 13 gun-related incident at the Senate.
The Justice department, which is also conducting a separate fact-finding investigation into the events at the Senate from May 11 to 14, said its probe would proceed independently of any inquiry by other government agencies.
“The (DoJ) panel remains open to receiving any evidence that may assist in its investigation,” Justice spokesperson Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez told reporters in a Viber group chat.
“Its findings, however, will be based on its own independent assessment of the evidence submitted to it and gathered in the course of its investigation,” he said. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking
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