May 28, 2026
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) is now coordinating with transportation agencies to track down the vehicles allegedly involved in helping Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa “escape” the Senate earlier this month.
“We are looking at several individuals—including the drivers, security escorts, and owners of the backup vehicles involved in trailing them—who actively participated in this incident,” PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement on Thursday without further detailing those involved.
“The investigation also includes scrutiny of vehicles and support units allegedly used in the movement. Coordination with transport agencies has been ordered to trace ownership and movements linked to the case,” he noted.
The top cop further tasked the police force’s investigators to build an “airtight criminal complaint” against the other individuals who supposedly aided dela Rosa.
Nartatez’ statement came after the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) announced it would be referring a case before the Department of Justice against Sen. Robin Padilla and some unnamed individuals for obstruction of justice in connection with dela Rosa’s departure from the Senate.
Dela Rosa purportedly left the Senate, alongside Padilla in his car, early morning on May 14, hours after a shooting incident in the chamber, Nartatez and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla previously noted in a Palace press briefing.
According to Padilla, dela Rosa merely “hitched” a ride and transferred to another vehicle in Makati City but did not say where he was going.
The CIDG, however, maintained dela Rosa leaving the Senate premises with Padilla was a “highly coordinated, pre-planned logistical maneuver specifically executed to avoid detection.”
“Let this be a clear warning: there will always be legal consequences when you choose to interfere with law enforcement and assist a person in evading arrest, regardless of your status,” Nartatez stressed.
Dela Rosa is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his alleged involvement in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, which killed up to 30,000 people, according to human rights groups.
After the Supreme Court denied dela Rosa’s request to block an ICC arrest, on May 21, the Department of Justice ordered the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation to implement the global tribunal’s warrant against the senator.