The legal principle protecting the accused from being presumed guilty before conviction is at the center of Senator Robin Padilla’s defense of colleague Ronald Dela Rosa, who has remained absent from Senate sessions to avoid a standing International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
Padilla argued that Dela Rosa’s electoral mandate — he placed third in the 2025 senatorial race, behind Senators Christopher Lawrence Go and Benigno Aquino III — cannot be suspended simply because an arrest warrant exists.
“Ang isang tao ay itinuturing na walang sala hangga’t hindi napatutunayang nagkasala. Ito ang pangunahing prinsipyo ng batas na kilala sa Ingles bilang ‘presumption of innocence’,” Padilla said.
Rather than accept the senator’s physical absence entirely, Padilla called for the Senate to allow Dela Rosa to participate in sessions through online means. “Iniluklok siya ng taumbayan na maging senador. Hayaan natin siyang magtrabaho para sa taumbayan sa pamamagitan ng online,” he said.
Padilla was direct in characterizing the situation as one driven not by indifference but by survival. “Si Bato ay wanted ng ICC; hindi niya gusto na hindi siya pumapasok. Malayong magkaiba yung ayaw niyang pumapasok dahil isasakay sa eroplano at dadalhin sa dayuhang bansa at ikulong!” he said on Facebook.
He framed the issue as a question of democratic representation, pointing to the millions who voted for Dela Rosa. “Maging sinuman na senador hangga’t walang final conviction, ibig sabihin, hindi pa kriminal ang tao, kaya’t dapat gawin niya ang mandato niya dahil ibinoto siya ng mga Pilipino,” Padilla said. “Number 3 nga yan eh. Mas marami ang boto niya kesa sa marami sa inyo. Sinasaklawan niyo ang kapangyarihang ibinigay sa kanya ng taumbayan para maging boses nila,” he added.
Dela Rosa had briefly surfaced at the Senate on May 11, casting a vote in favor of installing Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President, before dropping out of sight again. He had earlier sought protective custody at the upper chamber after NBI agents attempted to serve the ICC warrant, but left the premises with Padilla in the early hours of May 14, following a shooting incident at the Senate building.
The minority bloc has opposed the proposed rule amendment that would allow remote voting via teleconferencing, walking out of session in protest. The bloc also raised procedural objections, noting that prior notice requirements before deliberating on rule changes had not been observed.
