A scene from an old movie featuring actor-turned-politician Sen. Robin Padilla was edited to reference his alleged role in the escape of fellow Duterte ally, Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, from the Senate.
The Akbayan party-list on Friday, May 22, poked fun at Padilla, who admitted that he let Dela Rosa hitch a ride with him after the shooting incident at the Senate on May 13.
“Hindi ko itinakas si Sen. Bato,” Padilla said.
“Paano kami tatakas? Ang daming pulis sa loob at labas ng Senado, may CCTV pa. Wala namang humarang sa’min… ang sabi ni Sen. Bato, ‘Sasakay na ako.’ Alangan naman tanggihan ko ‘yun?” he added.
“Walang sasakyan si Sen. Bato dahil inihatid lang siya sa Senado sa sasakyan ni Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano,” Padilla said.
Videos showed Padilla and Dela Rosa exiting the Senate compound in the early hours of May 14 in a white sports utility vehicle.
Padilla said he informed Dela Rosa he needed to go home at that time since his wife, TV host Mariel Rodriguez, was already looking for him, six hours after the shooting incident.
Padilla added that Dela Rosa was dropped off in Makati City, where the latter’s own vehicle picked him up.
An edited video lifted from Padilla’s 1999 action movie, ‘Di puwedeng hindi puwede!” was later uploaded by the Akbayan party-list in reference to the senator’s comments.
The scene showed Padilla’s character preening before driving a vehicle to fetch a woman, originally played by Vina Morales, with her face edited to that of Dela Rosa.
“‘Sinakay ko lang si Bato,’” the party-list said in the post, quoting Padilla.
“Salamat, Robin, at inamin mo na tumulong ka sa pagtakas ng puganteng si Bato Dela Rosa. Ang statement mo na mismo ang ebidensiya laban sa iyo. Nahuhuli talaga ang isda sa sariling niyang bibig,” it added.
The scene was from “Di Puwedeng Hindi Puwede!” in which Padilla played an ex-convict who tries to lead a new life as a rent-a-car driver.
The Senate incident
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa reappeared in the Senate on May 11 after a six-month absence to participate in a vote that ousted then-Senate President Tito Sotto III and installed then-Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano in the role.
On May 13 evening, a shooting happened in the building.
Some senators went live on Facebook and claimed the Senate was “under attack.”
It was later revealed that the shooting was a contained security incident involving coordination issues between personnel stationed at the Senate complex and National Bureau of Investigation agents deployed near an adjacent Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) facility.
The NBI and the PNP said the situation involved warning shots fired during a tense standoff near a restricted access point between the Senate and GSIS compound.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso had sought the NBI’s assistance in “fortifying” the security at the GSIS premises after Dela Rosa asked supporters to hold a prayer vigil at the Senate.
The request was made to protect billions of pesos worth of artworks and other valuables housed at the GSIS.
The incident comes amid Dela Rosa being tagged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an “indirect co-perpetrator” of the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war.
He is accused of committing alleged crimes against humanity of murder for his role as Philippine National Police chief from 2016 to 2018 in the anti-illegal drugs operations.
Dela Rosa has an arrest warrant issued by the ICC and is listed as “at large” on its wanted list on its website.
