Rep. Leila de Lima (Mamamayang Liberal party-list) corrected Sen. Robin Padilla after he linked her past detention case to the situation involving Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
De Lima’s previous request to participate remotely in Senate sessions while detained was cited in discussions surrounding a proposal by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta that would allow Dela Rosa to join Senate proceedings, including voting, via teleconference.
Dela Rosa, who is facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), has been in hiding since the May 13 shooting incident at the Senate building.
Marcoleta proposed allowing Dela Rosa to participate in Senate sessions remotely through teleconference. In making the case, some senators pointed to De Lima’s past circumstance, noting that senators had previously filed a resolution seeking to allow her to take part in Senate proceedings while under detention.
At that time, De Lima’s allies in the Senate sought to allow her to participation in committee hearings and plenary deliberations while she awaited the resolution of the criminal charges against her.
Some of Dela Rosa’s allies have cited De Lima’s situation to support proposals allowing him to participate in Senate proceedings online. However, several senators rejected the comparison, arguing that the circumstances of the two cases differ.
Senators Risa Hontiveros and Kiko Pangilinan noted that De Lima’s case occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote participation became necessary because of a national emergency.
They also emphasized that De Lima was under detention and facing legal proceedings, whereas Dela Rosa has sought refuge in the Senate despite an arrest warrant issued against him.
ALSO READ: Why De Lima’s pandemic teleconferencing appeal and Senate remote voting proposal are not comparable
Padilla, an ally of Dela Rosa, in a Facebook post claimed that De Lima’s case was different, saying she was “allegedly connected to drug lords,” while Dela Rosa was “allegedly connected to neutralizing drug lords.”
De Lima later responded to Padilla’s remarks, calling on him not to use her case in what she described as a “distorted narrative.”
“Excuse me, Sen. Robin. Huwag niyo nga akong gamitin sa baluktot niyong naratibo. Acquitted na ako sa hinarap kong mga gawa-gawang kaso. Napakalayo ng sitwasyon ko sa pinasakay mong fugitive from justice na si Sen. Bato,” she wrote on Tuesday, June 2.
“Saka neutralizing drug lords talaga? Sabihin niya ‘yan sa pamilya ng libo-libong biktima ng EJK (extrajudicial killings). Ipaliwanag niya ‘yan sa ICC,” De Lima added.
De lima’s case
De Lima was cleared of all drug-related charges in 2024.
She was a sitting senator when she was arrested in 2017, a year after former president Rodrigo Duterte assumed office. De Lima spent more than six years in detention while facing three drug trafficking charges.
Her arrest came after she initiated Senate inquiries into Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. A vocal critic of Duterte, De Lima maintained that the charges against her were politically motivated.
Prosecutors had accused her of facilitating, tolerating and profiting from the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison between 2012 and 2016, when she served as justice secretary.
In 2024, the courts cleared De Lima of all charges, ruling that the evidence presented was insufficient to establish her guilt.
Dela Rosa’s case
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC over his alleged role in the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
The ICC has accused him of the “crime against humanity of murder,” alleging that he acted as an “indirect co-perpetrator” between July 2016 and April 2018 while serving as chief of the Philippine National Police.
As PNP chief, Dela Rosa oversaw the implementation of the anti-drug campaign and was widely regarded as one of its key architects. The campaign was linked to thousands of deaths, including killings that human rights groups and other critics alleged were carried out extrajudicially.
On May 14, Dela Rosa left the Senate after riding in a vehicle with Padilla. He was later spotted in Makati, where another vehicle was reportedly waiting for him.
Dela Rosa has not appeared publicly since then.
The Department of Justice has directed the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation to implement the ICC arrest warrant.
