MANILA, Philippines – The Tindig Pilipinas coalition on Wednesday, June 3, filed an obstruction of justice complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Robin Padilla, and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca in relation to Senator Bato dela Rosa’s escape from the Senate.

The complainants also include human rights workers and the families of victims of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.

“The rule of law requires accountability. Public office must never be used as a shield against justice. When officials use their positions to frustrate lawful processes and protect their allies from accountability, they betray the public trust and undermine our democratic institutions,” Tindig Pilipinas convenor Kiko Aquino Dee said.

Play Video

Dela Rosa was Rodrigo Duterte’s first police chief who implemented the war on drugs that killed nearly 30,000 people, according to several human rights groups. He is now considered a suspect for a crimes against humanity case after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest against him.

Dela Rosa went into hiding in November 2025 amid talk of his ICC arrest, and only reappeared at the Senate on May 11, to back Cayetano’s Senate presidency. The National Bureau of Investigation attempted to arrest him that day, but failed after Cayetano insisted that Dela Rosa was under the Senate’s “protective custody.”

Dela Rosa remained inside the Senate compound to avoid arrest. On May 13, a shooting incident ensued inside the upper chamber allegedly triggered by Aplasca — Dela Rosa’s classmate at the police academy who was only appointed as Senate security chief on the day Dela Rosa reappeared at the Senate. Hours later, Dela Rosa left the Senate compound with his fellow senator and friend, Padilla.

Dela Rosa has yet to be arrested until now. The Marcos administration announced last month that it will implement the ICC warrant, but this was only after Dela Rosa had escaped.

This is the latest legal action against Padilla and Aplasca in relation to Dela Rosa’s escape.

Padilla is already facing the same complaint before the Department of Justice. Aplasca, meanwhile, is also under Ombudsman investigation due to the shooting. He was also ordered suspended by the constitutional body due to the shooting incident. – Rappler.com