Individuals who helped Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa evade arrest may face criminal and administrative liability, including obstruction of justice and harboring a fugitive, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag warned Saturday.
Matibag issued the warning after Sen. Robin Padilla publicly admitted that Dela Rosa rode with him out of the Senate complex on May 14 and was later dropped off in Makati City before authorities again lost track of the former police chief.
“It is Senator Padilla himself who confirmed na sa kanya sumakay, nakisakay sa kanya at ibinaba niya sa isang lugar,” Matibag said during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
“I think he’s a responsible senator and a responsible citizen na alam na niya na ngayon na dapat managot sa batas,” he added.
Matibag said the Department of Justice is now studying possible cases against those who may have assisted Dela Rosa while authorities were trying to serve the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.
“On the question of kanyang responsibility or anything that this should be answerable under the law, it’s being studied and build up by the Department of Justice in coordination with other agencies involved,” he said.
The NBI chief said obstruction of justice could be among the possible charges, depending on the circumstances and the role of each person involved.
“Marami po ‘yan, depende kung ano ‘yung pagkatao. Meron po syempre ‘yung obstruction of justice diyan, tapos yung harboring ng criminal,” Matibag said.
He added that possible liability may become more complicated if the person involved is a government official.
“If you’re a government official working in the government, mas kumplikado po ‘yan because we have the Code of Professional Responsibility at saka ‘yung Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act),” he said.
Matibag also stressed that members of Congress are not automatically shielded from arrest, particularly if the offense involved carries a penalty of more than six years of imprisonment.
“This is established that any crime committed by any members of the Congress, whether it’s House or Senate, if the penalty is more than six years, you are not covered by the immunity from arrest,” he said.
The NBI director also appealed to the public to report any information that could help authorities locate Dela Rosa.
“It is the duty of every Filipino citizen na kung may nakita kayong isang pugante, the likes of Senator Bato, to report it to the law enforcement agency so that we can arrest the person,” Matibag said.