The Manila Times
MANILA, Philippines — Sen.Robinhood Padilla on Friday denied allegations that he helped Sen.Ronald "Bato"dela Rosa evade authorities by secretly leaving the Senate building in the early hours of Thursday morning. In a television interview, Padilla dismissed circulating claims that dela Rosa “escaped” from the Senate premises, stressing that they left openly and without interference despite the heavy presence of police and security personnel. “How are we going to escape? There are a lot of police inside and outside the Senate, and there is CCTV. No one stopped us,” Padilla said. Padilla disclosed that he had remained at the Senate for three days to accompany dela Rosa amid rising tensions that began earlier in the week after thesenator returned to attend sessions following a six-month absence. Padilla said the atmosphere inside the Senate complex became increasingly tense on Wednesday due to rumors of a possible leadership change in the body and the expected transmission of articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte. “You can feel the atmosphere is different. There are armed men outside. There are rallies, there are heated discussions,” he said. The senator also recounted reports of gunfire near the lower portion of the Senate building, which allegedly intensified fears among those inside the premises. Padilla and dela Rosa were reportedly in their offices on the fifth floor at the time. “Some senators were really scared. It was dark, there was no light, and the situation was tense. Some were crying. So, I went down to see if everything was okay,” Padilla said. Padilla added that dela Rosa appeared more concerned about the safety of senators, members of the media, and civilians gathered around the Senate complex than about his own situation. “I saw Sen. Bato thinking about how to diffuse the situation. He is a policeman,” he added.
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