‘Staged’ Senate chaos may have covered Bato exit — ‘That’s NBI agents’ sentiment’

Questions swirled over whether the chaos that erupted inside the Philippine Senate on Wednesday night was deliberately staged to help Ronald dela Rosa evade authorities allegedly seeking to arrest him over an International Criminal Courtwarrant.

Melvin Matibag stopped short of confirming the theory but admitted that some agents from the National Bureau of Investigation believe the commotion may have served as a diversion.

“Well, I’ll be very honest… That’s the sentiment of our NBI agents,” Matibag said during a Malacañang press briefing on Thursday when asked by Palace Press Officer Claire Castro whether the incident could have been a false flag operation.

“Kasi nandoon kami of course hindi na rin lang para sa seguridad ng GSIS kung hindi iyong amin na ring mandato na siguraduhin na ang isang tao na may mandato de aresto ay malaman namin kung saan pupunta lalong-lalo na nakita naman natin na anim na buwan ding nagtago mula noong nabalitang may warrant, so isa na po sa aming tinitingnan iyon,” Matibag added.

Authorities remained uncertain about dela Rosa’s whereabouts after reports surfaced that the senator had already left the Senate premises Thursday morning.

Dela Rosa, a key architect of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, has been trying to avoid arrest following reports that the ICC issued a warrant against him for alleged crimes against humanity tied to the previous administration’s war on drugs.

Matibag said investigators are now seeking complete CCTV footage from the Senate complex to reconstruct the events leading up to the confrontation.

The NBI chief claimed videos circulating online only captured the chase and commotion, but not the incidents preceding it.

According to Matibag, agents were preparing to approach dela Rosa when the senator allegedly tackled a female NBI agent, triggering the chaos inside the Senate building.

“Kaya po nagkaroon ng takbuhan,” Matibag said.

He added that the NBI eventually backed off after the Senate placed dela Rosa under protective custody, saying the bureau chose to respect the Senate as a coequal branch of government.

Matibag also revealed that authorities had standing instructions not to arrest dela Rosa because of a pending case before the Supreme Court of the Philippines and concerns that tensions between opposing groups could escalate further.

Still, officials acknowledged they do not know for certain whether dela Rosa had escaped the Senate complex or where he went afterward.

Asked repeatedly whether the incident was staged, Matibag declined to draw conclusions, saying the matter remains under active investigation by both the NBI and the Philippine National Police.

“We’d rather not draw a conclusion on an ongoing investigation,” he said, adding that forensic teams are reviewing CCTV footage and other evidence to determine what really happened inside the Senate that night.