Sen. Robinhood Padilla denied allegations that he helped Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa evade authorities after CCTV footage showed Dela Rosa riding in Padilla’s vehicle as they left the Senate.
In a statement, Padilla said he did not “help Bato escape” and rejected descriptions of Dela Rosa as a fugitive.
The issue emerged after CCTV footage circulated showing Dela Rosa boarding Padilla’s vehicle outside the Senate premises.
Padilla explained that in the early hours of Thursday, Dela Rosa told him he needed to go home because his wife was looking for him. According to Padilla, Dela Rosa asked if he could ride with him after leaving the Senate.
Padilla said he agreed because Dela Rosa did not have his own vehicle at the time. He noted that Dela Rosa had been brought to the Senate earlier by the vehicle of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
“Sen. Bato told me he would ride with me. How could I refuse? Sen. Bato had no vehicle because he was only brought to the Senate by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s vehicle,” Padilla said in an interview distributed to media through a press statement.
Padilla said he later dropped Dela Rosa off in Makati, where the senator was picked up by his own vehicle.
After that, Padilla said he no longer knew where Dela Rosa went.
The senator also emphasized that, in his view, there are more important issues that deserve public attention, including employment, fair wages, and efforts to address corruption.
Padilla maintained that his actions were limited to giving Dela Rosa a ride and that he did not assist the senator in avoiding authorities.
