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MANILA, Philippines — Civil society group Tindig Pilipinas filed a criminal complaint for obstruction of justice against Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, Sen. Robin Padilla and suspended Acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca before the Office of the Ombudsman over the escape of Sen. Bato dela Rosa.
The group filed the complaint on Wednesday, June 3, at the Office of the Ombudsman.
They alleged that the three officials acted in concert to knowingly and willfully frustrate the apprehension of Dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity.
"We are executing this Complaint-Affidavit to charge respondents Alan Peter S. Cayetano, Robinhood Ferdinand 'Robin' C. Padilla, Mao R Aplasca, and such other persons as may be found liable, for Obstruction of Justice under Presidential Decree No. 1829, and for such other offenses as the evidence may warrant," the group's complaint read.
The group asserted that the actions of the respondents represent a "continuous chain of events" aimed at obstructing the administration of justice and protecting a political ally from international legal processes.
"These circumstances, coupled with the evidence on record, establish prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction to indict respondents for knowingly and willfully obstructing, impeding, frustrating, or delaying the apprehension of Dela Rosa and the investigation of the events surrounding his escape," the complaint read.
"The acts alleged are not isolated or speculative. They form a coherent sequence of conduct which, taken together, supports the filing of the appropriate criminal information for violation of P.D. No. 1829," it added.
What the respondents did
The complaint, filed under Presidential Decree No. 1829, centers on the events of May 2026, when Dela Rosa allegedly escaped from the Senate premises despite being the subject of an unserved arrest warrant from the ICC.
According to the complaint, the respondents used their official positions and Senate facilities to create a sanctuary for Dela Rosa, who had suddenly reappeared at the Senate on May 11 after a six-month absence.
For Cayetano, complainants pointed out that he placed Dela Rosa under "Senate protective custody," a measure the group argued has no legal basis and was intended solely to shield the senator from law enforcement.
The group further claimed that Cayetano issued misleading public statements during a live broadcast, portraying the attempts of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to serve the ICC warrant as an unlawful "attack" on the Senate.
The allegations against Padilla involve his admitted role in the physical escape of the senator.
Padilla confirmed that Dela Rosa left the Senate premises in his private vehicle following a chaotic shooting incident on May 13, 2026.
While Padilla claimed he merely provided a ride and dropped Dela Rosa off in Makati City without knowing his subsequent whereabouts, the complainants argue this constitutes a material act of facilitating the escape of a person known to be facing arrest.
Meanwhile, Aplasca, the Senate Acting Sergeant-at-Arms, was included in the complaint for directing security measures that obstructed NBI access and created an environment of "confusion, panic, and disorder."
Aplasca admitted to firing the first shot against NBI agents during the standoff, an act the complainants said enabled Dela Rosa to leave the heavily guarded building.
The group also highlighted the Senate leadership’s subsequent refusal to comply with an Ombudsman subpoena for CCTV footage of the incident, characterizing the move as a deliberate effort to suppress evidence.
Aplasca was suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman in May 2026 due to the shooting incident in the Senate on May 13.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has also recommended to the Department of Justice the filing of an obstruction of justice charge against Padilla for helping Dela Rosa slip out of the Senate premises on May 14.
In a message to reporters, Department of Justice (DOJ) Spokesperson Polo Martinez said that despite a complaint before the Ombudsman, prosecutors of the DOJ will "proceed independently of any investigation or proceeding before another agency."
"The panel remains open to receiving any evidence that may assist in its investigation. 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," Martinez said.
