Anyone who helped Bato dela Rosa may face charges — DOJ

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MANILA, Philippines — Anyone who aided Sen. Bato dela Rosa's escape may face criminal charges, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, June 17, Vida told reporters that the initial findings of the Department of Justice showed that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had attempted to implement the warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Dela Rosa.

"When the ICC warrant was unsealed on May 11, 2026, and made public, any person who helped him escape may be held liable," Vida said.

Based on the initial findings, Vida said the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel recommended identifying and establishing the legal liability of everyone who conspired to help Dela Rosa escape in the early morning of May 14.

Additionally, the panel aims to determine whether reports from the NBI and the media — which indicated that sniper shots were fired from the Senate's fifth floor toward an NBI vehicle parked on the GSIS premises — were part of an orchestrated escape plan.

"At this stage, the investigation remains active and ongoing. I would not want to prejudge the findings of the panel nor preempt the conclusions it may eventually reach," Vida said.

According to Vida, the panel's conclusions stemmed from the data and materials submitted by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, the media and the GSIS.

The investigation also included a physical ocular inspection of the GSIS premises.

Vida also said that the shooting by the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms at the NBI was "unjustified."

"The Senate building was not under attack on May 13, 2026," Vida said.

Dela Rosa is currently at large due to an ICC warrant of arrest for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of at least 32 people allegedly committed between July 2016 and April 2018 during the drug war of then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

He escaped from the Senate premises in the early morning of May 14 with Sen. Robin Padilla, who insisted that his act of giving Dela Rosa a ride was not unlawful.

This prompted the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to file obstruction of justice complaints against Padilla before the DOJ.