MANILA — A Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court slipped out of the Senate on Wednesday night after gunfire erupted in the building, officials said, prompting an investigation into whether the chaos provided cover for his escape.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa, 64, who is facing an unsealed ICC arrest warrant accusing him of the crime against humanity of murder for “no less than 32 persons” between July 2016 and April 2018, left the heavily guarded Senate while in protective custody, authorities said.
The departure followed a sudden burst of gunfire along a Senate hallway during an altercation between the chamber’s security personnel and a government agent, according to multiple accounts. The shooting triggered panic inside the compound and, officials said, appeared to have enabled dela Rosa to exit the premises.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a late-night televised appeal for calm as police and investigators probed the episode. Authorities said the National Bureau of Investigation and other agencies were looking into whether the incident had been staged to facilitate the senator’s departure.
Senate President Alan Cayetano, who took the chamber’s top post earlier this week, defended the Senate’s actions and denied any obstruction of justice. Cayetano said he had not seen an ICC arrest warrant inside the Senate and that dela Rosa was free to leave. Critics, however, called for accountability and urged scrutiny of Cayetano and the Senate’s security chief over how a person in protective custody could depart the compound.
Dela Rosa, a former national police chief under President Rodrigo Duterte, had returned to the Senate on Monday after months of absence amid fears of arrest. His sudden appearance helped Cayetano secure a Senate majority and the presidency of the chamber; dela Rosa arrived in Cayetano’s car, officials said.
National Bureau of Investigation agents attempted to serve the ICC warrant at the Senate, but dela Rosa ran to a narrow stairway and sought refuge with allied senators, who placed him under the chamber’s protective custody before his later exit.
The ICC indictment follows an earlier warrant against former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested in March on accusations of crimes against humanity tied to a brutal anti-drug campaign during his 2016–2022 administration. Both Duterte and dela Rosa have denied ordering extrajudicial killings, though Duterte frequently threatened suspected drug offenders while in office.
The episode also deepened an already fraught political rivalry between the Duterte family and the Marcos administration. Vice President Sara Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, has accused President Marcos of orchestrating her father’s “kidnapping” and transfer to the Hague, language that has intensified tensions.
Sara Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives this week on charges including unexplained wealth, misuse of public funds and a threatening remark about the president and others. She has denied wrongdoing but has not answered all allegations in detail. The Senate is scheduled to convene as an impeachment court as soon as Monday to prepare for her trial, Senate leaders said.
Investigators are continuing to interview security personnel and other witnesses to determine how dela Rosa left the Senate and whether any laws were violated in the process.