Why pick on lawyer Jimmy Bondoc when it’s Sen. Robin Padilla who appears to have some explaining to do on the disappearance of fellow senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa?

All the information that Padilla revealed in the past days are considered as admissions and Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Fredderick Vida said they already got plenty—to the point that they do not need the senator’s explanation.

“He admitted to many things that he did… exactly the reason why we are not asking him,” said Vida in a press briefing.

In the same press briefing, Vida disclosed that he already instructed the DOJ Panel of Prosecutors to send an official letter to Bondoc, asking him to cooperate in the ongoing operation to locate his client, Dela Rosa.

Initial reports that Dela Rosa left the Senate, which provided him protective custody, left with Padilla between 2:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. on May 14, or a few hours after the alleged attack on Senate--which the police investigators later rejected.

Padilla was also quoted saying that Dela Rosa rode in his car and that he left the latter to an area in Makati City. Dela Rosa has been nowhere to be found since then.

And since Padilla already provided information on his role in the disappearance of Dela Rosa through statements and interviews in the past days, Vida said the Panel of Prosecutors is now studying everything based on the former’s admissions.

“Based on this factual milieu, or factual circumstances, can we lead to a conclusion that he, or a person is probably guilty of a particular crime,” said Vida.

That crime is related to the violation of Presidential Decree 1829, or obstruction of justice—which includes concealing offenders, tampering of evidence, tampering of witnesses, misleading authorities and delaying legal processes.

Dela Rosa is a subject of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity after he was named as among the co-perpetrators of the bloody drug war that left 6,000 people dead in police operations.

The DOJ earlier said that the ICC warrant is valid and enforceable, which means that any action that prevents its enforcement would put a person in legal trouble.

And when the violators involve a government employee or a public official, Vida said there is another serious penalty.

“Let me remind also that if you are a public official or an employee found guilty of committing these acts, the accessory penalty is perpetual disqualification from holding office,” said Vida.

And if ever that the investigation of the DOJ Panel of Prosecutors would lead to a case build-up, that is the time that maybe, the explanation of Padilla is needed, according to Vida.