The Department of Justice is examining whether Senator Robin Padilla could face criminal liability after he publicly admitted to helping Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa slip out of the Senate in the early hours of May 14 — just as authorities were moving to serve an arrest warrant against the fugitive lawmaker.
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said Padilla’s own television statements have given prosecutors enough material to work with, making a formal invitation unnecessary for now.
“He has already admitted to doing so many things,” Vida said.
Prosecutors under a DOJ fact-finding panel will now weigh those admissions against the applicable legal standards, according to Vida.
“Meaning, our panel of prosecutors will study everything. We’ll study everything [to see if], based on these admissions, based on this factual milieu or factual circumstances, can we lead to a conclusion that he or a person is probably guilty of a particular crime,” Vida said, speaking Filipino.
Padilla had told reporters in a television interview that he drove dela Rosa out of the Senate building, describing the arrangement as nothing more than a ride since dela Rosa had no vehicle of his own. Dela Rosa had surfaced briefly that day after six months in hiding — casting a vote for a new Senate president — before disappearing again following the incident, despite having been placed under protective custody.
While the DOJ is not compelling Padilla’s appearance before the panel, Vida said the door remains open if the senator chooses to come forward.
“The Department of Justice would always be open, not only to victims or Filipinos seeking redress of their grievances. We are also open to anyone who will bring in or put forward facts and information that will help us fulfill our mandate,” Vida said.
The justice secretary framed the inquiry within the DOJ’s broader institutional role, stressing that the process is driven strictly by evidence.
“Remember, the mandate of the DOJ is to jail those who should be jailed and exonerate those who are innocent. But our only basis for everything is data and facts,” he added in Filipino.
