POLICE on Wednesday said they are filing an obstruction of justice complaint against Sen. Robinhood Padilla and several others for helping the fugitive Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa slip out of the Senate building on May 14 following a shooting incident there.
In a statement, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has “officially concluded that the transport of Senator Dela Rosa was not a mere hitched ride on Senator Padilla’s car, but a highly coordinated, preplanned logistical maneuver specifically executed to avoid detection while escaping the Senate premises in the dawn of May 14, 2026.” Investigation further revealed that another vehicle tailing Padilla’s car served as a security escort and backup car during the maneuver.
The CIDG said the legal action was in line with its mandate to conduct investigation and enforce the law equitably and without exception.
“When individuals actively interfere in the arrest or assist in the evasion of criminal offenders to avoid prosecution, it undermines the justice system and compromises public order,” the CIDG said.
It emphasized that “any act of obstruction of justice will be met with criminal prosecution.” On Tuesday, the Department of Justice said it was studying Padilla’s admission on how Dela Rosa was able to leave Senate premises.
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said Padilla’s own admissions were already enough for him to be investigated.
Padilla, a staunch supporter of Dela Rosa and the Duterte clan, previously said the senator hitched a ride with him after the shooting because he was worried his presence endangered the safety of everyone there.
Padilla said he dropped off Dela Rosa in Makati, without knowing where he was headed next.
Angeles raid
Earlier on Wednesday, police and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents raided a house in a subdivision in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, Pampanga, where Dela Rosa was allegedly hiding but did not find him there.
Reports said the home was allegedly owned by the uncle of Padilla. The CIDG, however, has yet to release any information about the operation.
Authorities said the operation stemmed from intelligence reports saying the property was being used as a possible hideout for Dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in relation to the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, which he headed as national police chief.
Barangay Balibago chairman Joseph Ponce, in an interview, said authorities coordinated with him around 5:30 a.m. before carrying out the operation at a house inside Diamond Subdivision owned by a certain Lakay Cariño, whom he identified as Padilla’s maternal uncle.
Authorities were also reportedly searching for a pickup truck, also allegedly owned by Cariño, that was said to have been used as a backup vehicle during Dela Rosa’s escape from the Senate premises on May 13 shortly after the shooting there.
Barangay Balibago officials including barangay kagawad Ednel Batac, EXO Elmer Samson and members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team witnessed the operation.
“At around 6 a.m., authorities barged into the home of Lakay Cariño because of the suspicion that Senator Bato was there.”
Cariño reportedly left for Manila days before the raid. He serves as Ponce’s security consultant and is also president of the senior citizens group in Barangay Balibago.
Around 6:30 a.m., about 16 vehicles carrying CIDG, NBI and PNP personnel were seen leaving the subdivision, he added.
“Everything was orderly and there was no chaos. The raid was early and the residents of Diamond Residence Subdivision helped,” Ponce said in Filipino.
The CIDG has yet to issue any update regarding the operation.
Gun licenses revoked
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office (PNP-FEO) revoked the firearms licenses registered under Dela Rosa’s name. The revocation order was signed by FEO chief Brig. Gen. Jose Manalad Jr.
On Tuesday, the FEO said the law governing firearms says an applicant for a gun license should not have been convicted or have a pending criminal case before any court of law for a crime that is punishable by a penalty of more than two years.
Dela Rosa’s lawyer, Israelito Torreon, argued that Dela Rosa was not an applicant, so there was no basis to cancel his gun licenses.
Another section of the law says a person can lose his license if he has been convicted of a crime, or if a court orders the revocation.
“Senator Dela Rosa has been convicted of nothing. No Philippine court has issued any order against him,” Torreon said.
The PNP on Wednesday assured the public that no special treatment will be accorded to Dela Rosa amid talk that police officers would treat the lawmaker with kid gloves because of his decadeslong service in law enforcement.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the police force remains bound by law and will perform its mandate “without fear or favor.”
“While our ranks maintain an institutional respect for Sen. Bato Dela Rosa as a former PNP chief, we assure the public that there will be no special treatment,” Nartatez said. “Our personnel will execute all lawful directives with absolute professionalism, impartiality and transparency.”
