Dela Rosa no longer in Senate – Cayetano
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday confirmed that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had left the Senate premises.
“Long story short, the sergeant-at-arms confirmed that he’s no longer in the building. I’m waiting for the complete incident report, on what time he left,” Cayetano told reporters in a briefing.
READ: Bato dela Rosa slipped out after Senate chaos – source
Cayetano said dela Rosa left the Senate with Sen. Robinhood Padilla for “everyone’s safety.”
“On May 14, 2026, at around 2:30 a.m., the communications sector reported to the sergeant-at-arms that Senator Bato, together with Senator Robinhood Padilla, had left the Senate premises,” Cayetano said, reading a report from the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA).
“I don’t know if they left together or they both left. I’m just reading to you. I haven’t asked. I haven’t talked to Senator Padilla. If they did, there’s nothing illegal with it,” he added.
Earlier, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said dela Rosa had left the Senate premises before dawn Thursday.
“As of 11:09 a.m., several sources confirmed that the senator, Senator Bato, is no longer in the Senate premises, but we’re still getting official confirmation on the report,” Castro said at a briefing.
According to Cayetano, he had last seen dela Rosa in person around 10 or 11 p.m. Wednesday.
However, he said he only learned that dela Rosa had left the Senate premises “around lunchtime” Thursday after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada called him about the latter’s absence.
Cayetano faced the media at 1 p.m. Thursday.
He also revealed that he had been in touch with dela Rosa’s wife, who thanked the Senate president and other senators for “all the support” they had given the lawmaker.
READ: Palace: Sources confirm Bato dela Rosa has left Senate presmises
Reading her message, Cayetano added: “I’d also like to ask for forgiveness for all the confusion and havoc it has created in the Senate. It is for this reason I am sure that Ronald made his ‘escape.’”
“He told me that, while he had stayed in the Senate, he was dragging them more… He felt everyone’s safety was more important, no matter how safe he felt at the Senate,” Cayetano said.
Dela Rosa had been placed under Senate protective custody since Monday after agents of the National Bureau of Investigation tried to serve an ICC-related arrest warrant against him.
Dela Rosa is the subject of an ICC warrant seeking his arrest in connection with the tribunal’s investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. Former President Rodrigo Duterte is currently detained at the international tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. /dp /dm /das
