The Philippine National Police confirmed on Tuesday that Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was seen leaving the Senate premises after last week’s shooting incident aboard a vehicle registered to Senator Robin Padilla.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. disclosed the information during a Palace briefing while presenting CCTV footage showing a white Toyota Fortuner exiting the Senate compound at around 2:30 a.m. on May 14.
“It shows a white Fortuner and personalities going out from the Senate. Particularly makita natin doon ang Senator Bato and Senator Robin Padilla going to the vehicle na Fortuner,” Nartatez said.
[Translation: It shows a white Fortuner and personalities going out from the Senate. Particularly, we could see Senator Bato and Senator Robin Padilla going to the Fortuner vehicle.]
“Per records inquiry, it is owned by Senator Padilla,” he added.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla also confirmed that the SUV shown in the footage belonged to Padilla.
“That is them getting away,” Remulla said while presenting another video showing the vehicle leaving the Senate premises.
The PNP has yet to publicly release the full CCTV footage allegedly showing Dela Rosa’s departure from the Senate.
Padilla earlier acknowledged that the vehicle identified in the footage belongs to him but refused to confirm whether Dela Rosa was inside during the incident.
“Antayin na lang natin yung imbestigasyon,” Padilla told reporters while laughing.
[Translation: Let’s just wait for the investigation.]
Dela Rosa resurfaced at the Senate on May 11 for the first time since November 2025 to participate in the vote that installed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president.
Following the leadership change, senators allied with Dela Rosa approved a motion placing him under Senate protective custody after the International Criminal Court confirmed the existence of an arrest warrant against him.
The ICC warrant is tied to alleged crimes against humanity linked to the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign during Dela Rosa’s tenure as Philippine National Police chief.
