Air Force denies standby plane for Bato transfer to The Hague

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) on Tuesday denied social media reports claiming that a civilian aircraft was on standby at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City to transport Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to The Hague, Netherlands, saying there was nothing unusual happening at the air base.

In a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Christina Basco said the Air Force continues to carry out normal and routine operations and has not received any directive regarding the supposed deployment of an aircraft for Dela Rosa.

“Wala pa kaming natatanggap na any official directives, coordination, and requests regarding that,” Basco said.

“Actually nga po ngayon, we are on white alert status. We are undergoing normal air operations, routine operations, at iyon po ang status natin ngayon sa Villamor,” she added.

At the same press briefing, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla emphasized that the military remains focused on its constitutional mandate and does not engage in political activities.

“For the side of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we continue to remain committed to our constitutional mandate of protecting the Filipino and securing the State. So, focus po kami doon sa aming mission and mandate,” Padilla said.

“We do not participate in any partisan and political activities, and we respect the function and process of all our democratic institutions,” she added.

Not even Marine deployment

Padilla also clarified that the deployment of Philippine Marine Corps personnel at the Senate is part of standard security procedures and is not connected to the recent standoff involving Dela Rosa.

“To confirm, we really have deployments to different areas and institutions. So, over and above the Senate, we also have deployments in the Malacañang Palace. Kung mapapansin ninyo, meron din po tayo sa mismong rebulto ni Jose Rizal,” Padilla said.

“Ito po ay standard. Mula nang pumasok ako sa serbisyo, nandiyan na po sila. But ang role ng ating Marines diyan ay for perimeter security. So, hindi po sila pumapasok sa loob ng Senado gayundin sa loob ng Malacañang Palace,” the AFP spokesperson explained.

Padilla said any augmentation requests are assessed on a case-to-case basis, but stressed that the current deployments are unrelated to the issues involving Dela Rosa.

Earlier, the International Criminal Court confirmed Monday night that the warrant of arrest against Dela Rosa circulating in the media “is indeed a formal ICC document.”

The ICC unsealed and formally classified the document as “public” on 11 May.

“This arrest warrant against Mr. Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa was issued confidentially, under seal, by Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC on 6 November 2025,” ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet said in a text message to reporters.