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| Senator dela Rosa left the Senate without anyone trying to stop him |
Senator dela
Rosa’s abrupt departure came hours after the International Criminal Court
confirmed it had issued a warrant for his arrest as early as November last year
on charges of carrying out a bloody war on drugs along with former President Rodrigo Duterte who has been detained at The Hague for more than a year.
According to
Cayetano, dela Rosa left at about 2:30am along with Sen. Robinhood Padilla “for everyone’s
safety.”
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“Long story short, the sergeant-at-arms
confirmed that he’s no longer in the building. I’m waiting for the complete
incident report, on what time he left,” Cayetano told reporters in a briefing.
He insisted dela Rosa was within his rights to leave although by doing so he gave
up the “protective custody” of the Senate.
Earlier, Palace Press
Secretary Claire Castro said dela Rosa had left the Senate premises before dawn
Thursday.
She also said
that Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca was the first to fire a warning shot
at a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent, who was in the adjacent premises
of the Government Service System. The NBI agent fired back in retaliation.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
The exchange of
gunfire sent reporters and other people inside the
Senate premises at the time, scurrying for cover.
The senator who
had gone into hiding for six months after reports of the ICC warrant had come
out, reappeared at the Senate on Monday, to cast a crucial vote that resulted
in former Senate President Tito Sotto being cast out, and Cayetano taking over.
On his way in, he claimed he had wrestled with NBI agents who tried to arrest him on the strength of the ICC warrant.
The NBI denied the claim, saying they were not in the Senate premises at that time, but were in the adjacent GSIS building they were asked to protect.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said they were told to “stand down” after the Supreme Court ordered the government to respond to dela Rosa’s urgent application to stop the enforcement of the ICC warrant without a corresponding order from a local court.
“When the Senate
declared that Senator Bato was under their protective custody, we chose to
respect that decision because we respect the authority of the Senate as a
co-equal branch of government,” Matibag said.
The NBI is requesting the Senate for a copy of the video showing how dela Rosa managed to leave their premises without anyone stopping him.
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