Former Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon on Saturday, May 23, raised the legal specter of criminal liability for senators who placed Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa under protective custody, saying they may be liable as accessories to a crime under the Revised Penal Code—and naming Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano as among those who could be included.
“Maaaring kasama si Senator Cayetano diyan, maaaring kasama lahat ng mga nagsabi na under protective custody, because meron tayong batas na harboring, concealing, or assisting in the escape of the principal of the crime,” Gordon said in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday.
“Dapat pumasok diyan ‘yung accessory to a crime,” he said. “‘Yan ‘yung Act No. 3815 ng Revised Penal Code. ‘Yung mga accessories na tinatawag, baka pumasok sila diyan.”
Gordon cited Act No. 3815 of the Revised Penal Code as the legal basis for his assertion, specifically its provisions on accessories who harbor, conceal, or assist in the escape of the principal of a crime.
He said the fact that dela Rosa subsequently slipped out of the Senate in the early hours of May 14—after senators declared him under their protective custody—strengthens the case that those who sheltered him may have facilitated his escape from the enforcement of a valid ICC arrest warrant.
The former senator said the question of accessory liability must now be seriously examined by the appropriate authorities, stressing that the protective custody decision was not a neutral institutional act but one with direct legal consequences for those who made it.
He said the Ombudsman—which has already suspended Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca over the May 13 shooting incident—should look into the potential accessory liability of senators as part of its ongoing investigation into the events of May 11 to 14.
Gordon said the Senate’s decision to shield dela Rosa set a dangerous precedent—suggesting that the chamber can be used as a sanctuary for those facing valid arrest warrants, including from international tribunals.
“Sinunog ng Senado ang sarili nila sa pagtatago kay Dela Rosa. At ‘yung ginawa nung Sergeant-at-Arms na nagpaputok doon at pagkatapos biglang nakatakas, lahat ‘yan may dapat patunayan, dapat ‘yan merong mananagot,” Gordon said.
The former senator said the accessory liability question is separate from—but related to—the Ombudsman’s ongoing investigation into the shooting incident, and that the two must be pursued in parallel rather than in isolation.
He stressed that the law on harboring and concealing applies regardless of the political motivations behind the protective custody decision, and that no institution—including the Senate—is above the law when it comes to the protection of a fugitive from justice.
Gordon closed by saying the Senate’s credibility can only be restored if those who made the protective custody decision are willing to account for its legal and institutional consequences—and that the public, whose trust in the Senate has hit an all-time low, deserves nothing less than full accountability.
“I think some senators have lost their moral authority. I’m not ready na sabihin na sira na ang Senado, although bumagsak ang kanilang trust rating,” he lamented.
