Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa acknowledged on Wednesday that he tripped and fell while fleeing NBI agents at the Senate earlier this week — a version of events that aligns with what the bureau’s director has been saying — but insisted that the encounter still amounted to wrestling.
The NBI had deployed two female agents to serve Dela Rosa with an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, which was issued in connection with the crimes against humanity case stemming from the Duterte administration’s drug war. The attempt failed after the Senate placed Dela Rosa under its protective custody.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said he reviewed footage of the incident and found it showed clearly that the senator sustained hand injuries after tripping and bracing himself against the stairs as he ran to evade the agents.
“Nadapa siya eh. Kitang-kita nadapa dun sa staircase. Natukod niya ‘yung kamay niya,” Matibag said in a News5 interview on Tuesday.
Matibag also noted that the two female agents had been pushed by Dela Rosa before he ran, and that the NBI personnel trailing him were already about three meters behind when the fall occurred — meaning any physical contact had already ended.
At a press conference Wednesday, Dela Rosa did not dispute the fall but pushed back on the characterization that the incident did not involve physical confrontation.
“Kailangan ko pa bang i-smackdown, i-bag slam ko ‘yung babae sa sahig para mag-qualify as wrestling? Hindi naman,” he said.
Dela Rosa had arrived at the Senate through a basement parking entrance, riding in another senator’s vehicle, to avoid the approximately 40 NBI agents stationed at the building. The NBI had received the warrant only that morning.
Matibag said the bureau had expected Dela Rosa, himself a former police chief and law enforcement veteran, to handle the warrant service professionally, and had not anticipated the situation turning confrontational.
