Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa sneaked out of the Senate complex early Thursday morning following the chaotic shooting incident and lockdown on Wednesday night, prompting National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag to describe the former police chief as a “fugitive.”

Malacañang and Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed Thursday that Dela Rosa was no longer on the Senate premises after authorities lost track of him at the height of the chaos.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said neither the NBI nor the Philippine National Police (PNP) carried out an operation to arrest Dela Rosa during the incident.

“The NBI did not assault the Senate and there was no NBI or PNP operation to arrest Senator Bato,” Castro said in a briefing.

She said the confrontation started near the bridge connecting the Senate and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) side of the complex after Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms personnel questioned an NBI agent and a security guard.

 Castro claimed Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Maj. Gen. Mao Aplasca (ret.) fired the first warning shot after the NBI agent identified himself, prompting the latter  to fire back.

PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said authorities arrested one individual allegedly linked to the NBI who was carrying 5.56mm ammunition and magazines. Investigators are also tracking down at least 10 persons seen on CCTV footage during the incident.

Aplasca and Dela Rosa were classmates in Philippine Military Academy Class of 1986.

Was it staged?

Matibag said he would feel “betrayed” if the Senate officials helped Dela Rosa leave the complex despite what he described as an earlier understanding with Cayetano.

“That would be sad because I believe our agreement should have been honored,” Matibag said in Filipino. 

He said some NBI agents believed the chaos may have been staged to facilitate Dela Rosa’s escape. “To be honest, that is the sentiment of some of our agents,” he said.

Matibag also denied the allegation of Sen. Imee Marcos that her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,  ordered the  storming of  the Senate to arrest Dela Rosa “regardless who gets killed.”

“The President’s instruction through (Justice) Secretary Eric Vida was clear: no arrest and no entry into the Senate because we respect the proceedings before the Supreme Court,” Matibag said.

He said NBI agents were deployed only to secure the adjacent GSIS building upon the request of GSIS president Wick Veloso.

‘National embarrassment’

Hours after the incident, the Senate Secretariat confirmed Dela Rosa had left the premises at around 2:30 a.m.

Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc condemned the senator’s departure as a “national embarrassment” and demanded accountability from Senate officials and security personnel.

“This is not a mere procedural lapse. This is a national embarrassment and a clear demonstration of how impunity works in practice when the accused is powerful and well-connected,” the bloc said in a statement.

Rep. Leila de Lima urged Dela Rosa to surrender peacefully “to avoid further chaos.”

Political science professor Dennis Coronacion  raised doubts about the conflicting accounts surrounding the incident.

“Was there really a gunfight or was it staged as a smokescreen?” Coronacion asked.

Marines stayed out of it

The Armed Forces of the Philippines denied any involvement in the incident.

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said Marines assigned to secure the Senate complex did not fire their weapons.

“The Marines did not fire because they were there to support. It was the OSAA that fired,” Brawner said.

Bato still in Phl

Dela Rosa has not left the country, according to the Bureau of Immigration.

The senator had been staying at the Senate since Monday under what Senate officials described as “protective custody” amid speculation that the NBI would serve an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC has linked Dela Rosa to crimes against humanity tied to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug war. 

ICC Prosecutors accused him of “criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator” in the killings of at least 32 individuals between July 2016 and April 2018.

Cayetano said Dela Rosa’s wife, Nancy, informed him through a text that the embattled former PNP chief fled while Senate sergeant-at-arms and NBI operatives were exchanging fire on the second floor of the building.

However, a senator, who requested anonymity, confirmed to the press that Dela Rosa left the Senate at around 2:30 a.m., after tensions from the commotion subsided. The senator obtained the information from the Senate secretariat at 10:30 a.m. 

Cayetano, quoting Nancy, said Dela Rosa was supposed to stay at the Senate pending the Supreme Court’s decision on their petition for a TRO. The high court gave respondents — the government — 72 hours to comment on Dela Rosa’s request. 

Nancy visited Dela Rosa at his office on Wednesday and left the Senate at 9 p.m., with the assurance from her husband that he would “stay put” in the chamber despite a threat from law enforcement serving the ICC warrant. 

“I am sure that Ronald made his escape…It wasn’t in the plan, but knowing him, I am m sure that he took the opportunity when the chaos and firing were ongoing,” Cayetano said, reading Nancy’s text.