Senator Robin Padilla took offense at Ombudsman Boying Remulla’s pronouncement last week that he ignored the summons of the office over its ongoing probe into Senator Bato dela Rosa’s escape, asserting that there was no truth to it, while flaunting the original copy of his affidavit.

Padilla took the podium shortly after the opening of the seventh day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday to denounce Remulla’s remark.

It was met, however, with opposition from Senator Erwin Tulfo, who argued that matters that are not related to the impeachment should not be discussed in the trial to prevent further delays, citing similar issues in recent weeks.

He lamented that the impeachment court is being exploited by some senator-judges to “defend themselves”, knowing fully well that the court was established to tackle matters that are strictly related to the Vice President’s impeachment case.

Before Tulfo raised the concern, Padilla addressed Remulla’s statement on Friday, alleging that the senator effectively ignored his office’s summons by failing to file a counter-affidavit against the complaint filed against him by Tindig Pilipinas in early June. 

“What the honorable Ombudsman said was that I failed to comply with their directive to file my counter-affidavit. This is disheartening because it is not true,” Padilla said in Filipino. 

He also blasted members of the media for buying Remulla’s “propaganda.” 

“I ask my colleagues, especially my friend, the Senate President, that at times like this, help [us] to explain to the media that we also have the opportunity to defend ourselves, and we should not be immediately judged as not following the law,” Padilla lamented.

However, a verification by the Daily Tribune showed that some members of the Senate media sought Padilla’s comment shortly after Remulla’s statement, but the lawmaker did not respond. 

Tindig Pilipinas accused Padilla of obstruction of justice for allegedly escorting Dela Rosa to escape the Senate premises in the wee hours of 14 May to evade a warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court. 

Dela Rosa is facing charges of crimes against humanity tied to the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war, which he oversaw as former PNP chief. 

He sought refuge in the Senate for barely three days, but subsequently “escaped” the compound following the NBI’s alleged botched attempt to arrest him, which triggered the chaotic gunfire incident on 13 May. 

A copy of CCTV footage from the Senate showed that De la Rosa left the Senate building at around 2:30 a.m., accompanied by his ally, Padilla. 

In a briefing on Monday, Remulla reiterated that Padilla had not yet filed any response to the summons given by his office.  

“The deadline has passed. I don’t know; he chooses to ignore the Ombudsman, then so be it,” the Ombudsman said.