Chalssea Kate Echegoyen

Sen. Robinhood Padilla attends the  Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing  on the alleged anomalous flood control projects in the country at the Senate plenary hall in Pasay City on September 23, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

SENATE PROBE- FLOOD CONTROL ANOMALIES

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) – Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is supposedly hiding from an alleged kidnapper, which is why he left the Senate last May 14.This, according to Senator Robinhood Padilla who attended Monday’s session despite earlier being tagged as a “person of interest” in the alleged departure of Senator Ronald dela Rosa from the Senate premises last week.Asked who Dela Rosa was hiding from if there is allegedly no valid warrant of arrest against him, Padilla said, “Sa kidnapper.” He did not elaborate on the supposed kidnapper. “Basta ako, si Bato ayaw niyang ma-kidnap,” Padilla said.Dela Rosa was the lone absentee during the session, days after he exited the Senate on May 13 after a gunfire incident in the Senate on May 13. The senator, before his absence, claimed that personnel from the National Bureau of Immigration and the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group were on the way to arrest him in connection with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the Duterte administration’s drug war.Dela Rosa’s legal team and even Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said only a warrant of arrest from a Philippine court should be recognized.Speaking to reporters on Monday, Padilla refused to confirm whether he accompanied Dela Rosa out of the Senate compound in the early hours of May 14.“Kasi ako po umuwi lang ako ng bahay tatlong araw na kong hinahanap ng asawa at anak ko,” Padilla said.“Hintayin na lang po natin ‘yung imbestigasyon,” he added. “Paggalang po yun sa awtoridad.” For Padilla, it would have been better if Dela Rosa stayed in the Senate, but said he could not prevent him from leaving. He denied that they went to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after leaving the Senate, and contradicted allegations that Dela Rosa boarded a yacht. Earlier, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed that Dela Rosa and Padilla left the Senate premises together at around 2:30 a.m. on May 14.The controversy over Dela Rosa’s whereabouts intensified after lawyer Israelito Torreon claimed that an aircraft had allegedly been prepared for the senator amid reports of a possible arrest tied to the ICC probe.The Philippine Air Force has since denied any unusual aircraft movement related to the incident.Padilla is confident Dela Rosa will not leave the country.<div> </div>“Hindi gagawin ni Bato ‘yun. Mahal niya ang Pilipinas,” Padilla said.Meanwhile, Atty. Jimmy Bondoc, counsel for Dela Rosa, said they do not know the senator’s current whereabouts.He said that the last time he and Dela Rosa talked was an hour before his departure.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/14/bato-has-left-senate-premises-1107">Cayetano: Bato no longer at Senate</a></div>Meanwhile, Dela Rosa&#x27;s lawyer Jimmy Bondoc said he does not know the senator’s current whereabouts.He said that the last time he and Dela Rosa talked was an hour before his Senate departure. <div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/12/paf-says-no-unusual-movement-in-villamor-amid-claims-of-plane-for-dela-rosa-1546">PAF says no unusual movement in Villamor amid claims of plane for Dela Rosa</a></div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zLkuk2p0R0c?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is supposedly hiding from an alleged kidnapper, which is why he left the Senate last May 14.

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is supposedly hiding from an alleged kidnapper, which is why he left the Senate last May 14.

Dela Rosa hiding from ‘kidnapper’ — Padilla

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Dela Rosa hiding from ‘kidnapper’ — Padilla

Chalssea Kate Echegoyen,

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 18, 2026 04:21 PM PHT

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Updated May 18, 2026 06:41 PM PHT

Read More:

Senate

Impeachment

Bato Dela Rosa

Robin Padilla

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