MANILA — A burst of gunfire shattered the halls of the Philippine Senate on Wednesday, sending lawmakers, staff, and journalists scrambling for cover as authorities attempted to arrest Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the former police chief facing an International Criminal Court warrant for crimes against humanity.
No one was injured in the chaotic incident, officials confirmed. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appealed for calm in a televised address as armed security personnel, including military members, rushed through the building with weapons drawn.
The dramatic confrontation unfolded after the ICC unsealed an arrest warrant for dela Rosa on Monday. The warrant accuses the 64-year-old senator of the crime against humanity of murder in connection with “no less than 32 persons” killed between July 2016 and April 2018, when he served as national police chief under former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Allied senators placed dela Rosa under “protective custody” inside the Senate on Monday after he reappeared following months out of public view. On Wednesday, he urged supporters via Facebook to gather at the Senate to block what he described as his impending arrest.
“We should not allow another Filipino to be brought to The Hague, the second one after President Duterte,” dela Rosa said in his message.
National Bureau of Investigation agents had tried to arrest him earlier in the week, but he sought refuge in the Senate plenary hall. Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano later told reporters, “The emotions are high here. This is the Senate of the Philippines, and we are allegedly under attack.”
Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla Jr. arrived at the scene with top police officials and stated he was sent by the President to secure the senators — not to carry out an arrest. Dela Rosa remained inside the building as tensions eased.
An investigation is now underway, with security camera footage set to be reviewed to determine who fired the shots and why, Remulla said.
Duterte himself was arrested in March last year and transferred to The Hague, where he remains in detention awaiting trial over the same anti-drug campaign that claimed thousands of lives, mostly poor suspects. Dela Rosa has denied involvement in extrajudicial killings and insists he is willing to face charges in Philippine courts.
As the Senate remained on edge late Wednesday, the incident underscored the deep political tensions surrounding the country’s bloody drug war and the reach of international justice into Philippine affairs. Further updates are expected as the investigation progresses.
