Gunshots were heard inside the Philippine Senate as tensions rose over a planned arrest of a leading senator. Witnesses reported multiple shots on Wednesday, with journalists and staff scrambling for cover while armed personnel moved through the building.
Earlier, more than 10 soldiers in camouflage and carrying assault rifles had entered the Senate complex. It remained unclear who fired the shots or why the troops were deployed.
The incident unfolded amid growing pressure over Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a central figure in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign, who faces a possible arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Dela Rosa has been sheltering in his Senate office since Monday, saying an arrest was imminent and urging supporters to mobilize to prevent any transfer to The Hague.
He called on members of the military and former classmates from the Philippine Military Academy to show their opposition to what he described as handing him over to foreign authorities.
Background
Ronald dela Rosa, widely known by his nickname “Bato” (Rock), served as national police chief from 2016 to 2018 and was a leading enforcer of Duterte’s drug war. Human rights groups say the crackdown left thousands dead, many of them drug users and low-level sellers. Dela Rosa denies involvement in illegal killings and argues that a transfer to the ICC would be unlawful because the Philippines withdrew from the court in 2018.
The Philippines left the ICC after the court’s prosecutor announced a preliminary examination of Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign. The ICC maintains that alleged crimes committed while a country was a member remain within its jurisdiction.
Political context
The standoff at the Senate coincides with other high-profile legal moves: the Philippine lower house recently voted to advance impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of the former president. Rodrigo Duterte is reported to be in The Hague facing trial at the ICC.
Dela Rosa previously served as City Director of the Davao City Police during the period when Sara Duterte and her father were mayor and later when Rodrigo Duterte succeeded her. The situation at the Senate adds another volatile chapter to the long-running domestic and international scrutiny of the Philippines’ drug-war-era policies.