Suspended Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca denied any knowledge of Senator Bato de la Rosa’s whereabouts, though he admitted that he was immediately informed about the escape of his mistah, just shortly after he left the Senate with Senator Robin Padilla.
In a radio interview early Friday, before he was suspended by the Ombudsman, Aplasca said his last encounter with De la Rosa was around 1 a.m. on Thursday, when he visited him at his office.
“A few minutes later, someone from our communication center called me, informing me that Senator De la Rosa left with Senator Robin,” he said partly in Filipino. “We have CCTV and security guards, so it’s impossible that no one saw them leave.”
Aplasca noted, however, that they did not receive “advance information” about De la Rosa’s plan to leave, dismissing speculations that the 13 May Senate shooting was merely staged to allow the embatled former PNP chief to evade authorities amid an International Criminal Court warrant.
De la Rosa is wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity over the alleged extrajudicial killings allegedly committed between November 2011 and March 2019—spanning former president Rodrigo Duterte’s tenure as Davao mayor and as the country’s chief executive.
The warrant alleged that De la Rosa, being the then chief of the Davao police and chief of the Philippine National Police—both under Duterte’s watch—is responsible for the killings of 32 individuals at various locations in the Philippines.
Aplasca said he was saddened by the unplanned escape of De la Rosa, who is a fellow Davaoeno and was responsible for nominating him as Senate Sergeant-at-Arms in place of the resigned retired Air Force Maj. Gen Rene Samonte on Monday.
Aplasca lamented that De la Rosa could have been further safeguarded from any arrest attempt had he not left the Senate, citing protective custody.
Although he added “there is no reason” to stop De la Rosa from leaving the chamber, citing the lack of a warrant from a Philippine court.
“Let's make it clear. Senator Bato de la Rosa was not arrested by the Senate…The protective custody is a privilege extended to Senator Bato de la Rosa. Now, it’s up to him whether he would avail it or not,” Aplasca said in a separate radio interview.
De la Rosa’s allies in the majority bloc led by Senate President Alan Cayetano agreed to temporarily house him in the Senate to protect him from the ICC warrant as he exhausts all legal remedies in the Philippines.
Cayetano earlier said that they will only convince De la Rosa to voluntarily surrender if the warrant is issued by a local court.
The Supreme Court did not immediately issue a TRO to stop the enforcement of the ICC warrant, as sought by De le Rosa’s camp. Speculations have suggested this prompted the chaos in the Senate on Wednesday, with Cayetano and Aplasca saying NBI operatives stormed the chamber in an alleged effort to arrest De la Rosa, resulting in the shooting incident.
Aplasca insisted, “By all means, we are not hiding anything here,” adding that they have been fully cooperative with the DILG’s ongoing probe.
Aplasca admitted he was the first to open fire against a supposed NBI agent breaching the Senate’s second-floor wing, although he claimed it was only a “warning shot.” The Ombudsman launched a parallel investigation into the matter and put Aplasca under a six-month preventive suspension to ensure impartiality.