MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has directed Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Robin Padilla, as well as suspended Senate sergeant-at-arms (SAA) Ma O. Aplasca, to answer the complaint against them in connection with Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s escape from the Senate premises last month.
In an order dated June 23 (Tuesday), but was only furnished to the media on Thursday, Assistant Ombudsman Moreno Generoso asked the respondents to submit their counter-affidavit in the June 3 complaint filed by Tindig Pilipinas within a non-extendible period of 15 days from the receipt of the order.
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“Acting on the sworn complaint, the above-named respondents are hereby directed to submit their counter-affidavit/s and controverting evidence to the said complaint …” the order stated.
Cayetano, Padilla, and Aplasca are also ordered to furnish a copy to the complainant Tindig Pilipinas.
The complainants could then submit their reply-affidavit five days after the receipt of the counter-affidavit.
Should Cayetano, Padilla, and Aplasca fail to file the counter-affidavit within the said period, the counter-affidavit will be deemed submitted for resolution, and the anti-graft body will no longer entertain any documents and further pleadings.
Francis Joseph “Kiko” Aquino-Dee, co-convenor of Tindig Pilipinas, told Inquirer that his group was furnished a copy of the Ombudsman order.
Lawyer Dino de Leon, counsel for the complainants, said the order marks the formal start of their push for accountability and “not just about political rhetoric.”
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“The Ombudsman has required them to answer because their actions have allowed an international fugitive to make a mockery out of the Senate and our legal enforcement system,” De Leon said in a statement. “We are confident they will be held accountable.”
According to the June 3 complaint, Cayetano, Padilla, and Aplasca are liable to be charged with obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1829, as their actions “appear to have obstructed, impeded, or frustrated the enforcement of legal process and the performance of legal functions.”
The move of Cayetano to put Dela Rosa under Senate custody, Padilla’s act of transporting Dela Rosa away from the Senate premises, and Aplasca’s move to “obstruct” NBI access that “created an environment that enabled Senator Dela Rosa to leave the Senate premises and escape law” makes them liable under Section 1(c) of the P.D. No 1829, according to the complainants.
“No public office, no Senate office, and no political alliance can be used as a sanctuary from the rule of law. If public officials deliberately used the powers of their offices to shield a fugitive from lawful process, they must answer for it,” de Leon said.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered Aplasca’s suspension on May 15 after he created a team to look into the shooting incident between SAA personnel and National Bureau of Investigation agents on May 13, two days after Dela Rosa showed up at the Senate after being in hiding for over six months.
On May 11, armed with the International Criminal Court warrant, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents tried to arrest Dela Rosa when he returned in the Senate.
But the senator managed to elude them and secure “protective custody” in the chamber, granted by Cayetano, who was the newly installed Senate president at the time.
Aplasca admitted firing the warning shot, prompting the NBI to fire back as well.
After the incident, Dela Rosa went back into hiding after leaving the chamber’s premises with Padilla aboard the latter’s vehicle in the early hours of May 14. /atm
