Cayetano files counter-affidavit in Bato escape complaint

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has submitted his counter-affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman in response to the obstruction of justice complaint filed over the alleged escape of Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa from the Senate in May.

The Ombudsman said Cayetano, through his counsel, filed his counter-affidavit on Wednesday, 15 July.

His co-respondents, Sen. Robinhood Padilla and dismissed acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca, have yet to submit their respective responses.

The complaint stemmed from the events of 14 May, when Dela Rosa left the Senate aboard Padilla's vehicle after staying under the protection of then Senate President Cayetano.

The senator, who is facing a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), has not been seen in public since leaving the Senate compound.

Questions were raised after Cayetano placed Dela Rosa under protective custody while authorities, including the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), were reportedly attempting to serve the ICC warrant.

The incident occurred hours after the shooting at the Senate that investigators later said had been orchestrated by Aplasca.

Cayetano and Padilla have consistently denied helping Dela Rosa evade authorities, maintaining that the ICC warrant was invalid and that the senator was not wanted by any Philippine court.

Padilla earlier said he merely allowed Dela Rosa to ride in his vehicle after the latter asked for a lift to an undisclosed location.

"Sen. Bato said, 'I'll just ride along.' Of course I couldn't refuse that. Sen. Bato didn't have a vehicle because he was only dropped off at the Senate by a car of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano," Padilla said in Filipino.