Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday, May 13 expressed belief the Cayetano siblings were the only senators aware that Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is due to arrive at the Senate last Monday in time for the Senate leadership change voting.

Lacson said Dela Rosa supposedly rode the vehicle of Sen. Pia Cayetano when he was waiting to enter the Senate premises.

He reportedly alighted the vehicle after the Senate opened the 3 p.m. session. His sudden attendance paved the way for Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto to be replaced by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

“As far as I know, at the very least, only two persons know that Sen. Bato is arriving. What I know is that Bato is inside Sen. Pia’s vehicle,” Lacson said in an interview on Radio DZBB in mixed English and Filipino.

“No one was aware from our side. Probably, even the new majority was unaware. That is based on the security consideration of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano,” he said.

Dela Rosa appeared at the Senate for the first time since disappearing from the public eye in November 2025 amid claims the International Criminal Court (ICC) has already issued an arrest warrant against him.

A CCTV footage showed the senator running towards the session hall to evade being arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents who were wearing civilian clothes.

Dela Rosa claimed he was tackled by the NBI agents, a matter that NBI Director Melvin Matibag had denied. 

In a post on X, Lacson said he believes that the “protective custody” extended by the Senate to Dela Rosa would no longer be justifiable once a Philippine court issues an order to surrender him to the ICC—unless the Supreme Court restrains or reverses it.

“Senate protective custody: legal or not, it cannot be justified anymore when a domestic court issues an order to surrender Senator de la Rosa to the jurisdiction of the ICC, unless the Supreme Court restrains or reverses the order,” the senator said on X.

https://x.com/iampinglacson/status/2054376687924879469

Nevertheless, Lacson reiterated that Dela Rosa should exhaust all legal remedies available to him. 

Lacson recalled that when he was in hiding and evading arrest as a "fugitive from injustice" in the early 2010s, he was backed by an existing and valid jurisprudence in Miranda v. Tuliao (G.R. No. 158763, March 31, 2006) which allowed “an accused to file certain motions — such as a motion to quash a warrant of arrest — even if he is not yet under custody of the law.”

This is now superseded by a new SC ruling that limits the same rights available to him at the time.

On the other hand, Lacson maintained that the authority of domestic courts must be acknowledged and respected, including in the case of action from the ICC.

“In the case of an international warrant, we are bound by a treaty but we still must respect our domestic courts,” he said in an interview on Radio DZBB.

“So in the case of the ICC, it must be brought to a local court that will issue an appropriate authorization or warrant allowing the enforcement of the ICC warrant,” he added. 

Earlier, Lacson and four other senators—Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Risa Hontiveros, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV—signed Senate Resolution No. 395 urging dela Rosa to, among others, “voluntarily surrender” and “seek judicial remedies in accordance with the Philippine Constitution and applicable laws and rules.”

Lacson said he intends to clarify the resolution since he understands that it formally asks Dela Rosa to voluntarily surrender after seeking and exhausting all judicial remedies but failing to get judicial relief.

“I will have this matter further clarified during the interpolation and amendment of the proposed resolution,” he said.