CIDG files obstruction raps vs Padilla, 5 others over dela Rosa’s escape

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP CIDG) has filed a complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Sen. Robin Padilla and five others for obstruction of justice.

CIDG public information chief Maj. Helen dela Cruz confirmed this in a text message to the Inquirer on Thursday evening.

READ: CIDG cites Padilla’s ‘indispensable cooperation’ in dela Rosa escape

In a press briefing in Camp Crame earlier on Thursday, CIDG director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II said Padilla had “indispensable cooperation” in helping Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa leave the Senate early in the morning on May 14.

Dela Rosa is wanted by the International Criminal Court over his alleged participation in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on illegal drugs.

Padilla had previously admitted that dela Rosa left the Senate with him aboard his vehicle.

However, Padilla maintained that dela Rosa only “hitched” a ride, and that he had dropped him off in Makati City without asking where he was going next.

According to Morico, other vehicles had been waiting “in the vicinity of the Senate” to ensure Padilla’s car was able to leave, but the CIDG chief did not provide further details about them, citing “operational matters.” /atm