The Philippine National Police (PNP) has opened an investigation into allegations that cops escorted Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa out of the Senate compound in Pasay City before dawn on 14 May.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered the probe after a viral video showed a white police vehicle leaving the Senate complex at around 3 a.m. alongside a black van believed by some observers to have carried Dela Rosa.

Nartatez said separate verification measures are underway to determine whether unauthorized police assistance was provided.

Pasay City police chief Col. Joselito de Sesto earlier confirmed he was inside the white police vehicle seen in the footage but denied escorting or providing logistical support to the black van.

Nartatez said investigators were ordered to secure CCTV footage, deployment logs, dispatch records, mobility records, duty rosters and body camera footage from units assigned near the Senate complex during the incident.

“If the investigation reveals that there was any unauthorized coordination, false reporting, or logistical support given to evade legal processes, those involved will face the full brunt of administrative and criminal sanctions,” he said.

The PNP chief also denied allegations that Camp Crame authorized any covert operation to assist Dela Rosa’s departure from the Senate.

Jonvic exiting?

Some sectors had tied the Senate visit of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla to the move to spirit Dela Rosa out, hours after Senate security and agents of the NBI figured in an exchange of gunfire.

Remulla’s department oversees the PNP. He had stated that the PNP, unlike the NBI, will not serve an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the senator, absent a red notice from the International Criminal Police Organization and a local court ruling on the legality of an ICC warrant.

The DAILY TRIBUNE had asked Remulla for comment on the conspiracy theory that has dragged him, along with talks that Malacañang would replace him with former Senator Antonio Trillanes III.

“The senator was not in my custody. Plainly said, he was in the custody of the OSAA (Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms),” Remulla said in response.

“We had offered him to stay in Camp Crame, but he refused, saying that he felt safer in the Senate. In no time was the PNP in custody of a warrant of arrest. His escape from the Senate falls squarely under the OSAA,” he added.

Remulla had figured recently in an exchange of words with Trillanes, who openly called for his resignation.

Meanwhile, Nartatez echoed Remulla, saying: “I categorically state that the national leadership had no prior knowledge of, nor did it authorize any logistical assistance for, the departure of Senator Dela Rosa from the Senate premises.”

Restraint sought

“Our deployment in the area was strictly confined to public safety, crowd control, and managing the perimeter following the highly volatile shooting incident that occurred hours prior,” he added.

Nartatez also appealed for restraint amid widespread speculation surrounding both the alleged escape and the Senate gunfire incident.

“Just like everyone, we in the PNP are also interested to know everything about this incident,” he said.

“We are looking into all the angles based on facts and all the pieces of evidence that we have, and we can get in order to come up with a clear picture of what really happened in the interest of truth, accountability and justice.”

He said investigators have already gathered key evidence, including CCTV footage from the Senate and testimonies from witnesses and the arrested suspect.

“The Filipino people deserve to know the truth, and we in the PNP commit to releasing the investigation in the soonest possible time,” Nartatez said.