Gunfire Erupts in Philippine Senate as Authorities Try to Arrest Sen. Ronald dela Rosa

Gunfire broke out late Wednesday in the Philippine Senate as authorities tried to arrest Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former national police chief wanted by the International Criminal Court over a deadly government crackdown on drugs.

“No one was hurt, officials said.”

AP News

AP reported that no one was hurt, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked the public to stay calm in televised remarks as it was not immediately clear who fired the shots or why.

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CNN described the stand-off as dela Rosa trying to dodge an ICC arrest warrant by hiding in the legislative building, with the source of the gunfire unclear in videos and one windowpane shown with at least a dozen bullet holes.

The BBC said the gunfire followed dela Rosa’s Facebook appeal urging people to prevent his arrest, and it reported that Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza said the National Bureau of Investigation tried to enter and fired shots as they retreated.

France 24 reported that Marcos said no government personnel were involved and that there were no immediate reports of casualties as the search for the gunmen was ongoing.

Senate President Alan Cayetano told reporters, “The emotions are high here,” and added, “This is the Senate of the Philippines, and we are allegedly under attack.”

Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla Jr. later arrived with top police officials and said he was deployed by the president to secure the senators, while Remulla said he did not come to arrest dela Rosa, according to AP.

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CNN reported that the interior secretary said unidentified armed men tried to enter the Senate’s second floor but were stopped by a member of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, who fired the initial shot as a warning.

In contrast, the BBC said Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza told local media that the National Bureau of Investigation tried to enter the Senate and fired shots as they retreated, while the head of the NBI said no agents were deployed to the Senate.

France 24 also reported a dispute over responsibility, citing Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza saying people he believed to be agents of the justice ministry’s National Bureau of Investigation attempted to enter and fired shots, while NBI Director Melvin Matibag told GMA News that no agents were there.

The gunfire unfolded as the ICC unsealed an arrest warrant for dela Rosa on Monday charging him with the crime against humanity of murder of “no less than 32 persons” between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, when he led the national police force under Rodrigo Duterte.

“murder of “no less than 32 persons” between July 2016 and the end of April 2018”

AP News

Dela Rosa, who is 64, vowed to fight the ICC arrest order and told supporters, “We should not allow another Filipino to be brought to The Hague, the second one after President Duterte,” as AP reported.

France 24 said the Supreme Court gave all parties 72 hours to respond to dela Rosa’s emergency petition, and it described Marcos’s call for an investigation into whether the incident was part of destabilisation.

NPR reported that dela Rosa fled the Senate after volleys of gunshots were fired by the building’s security personnel during an argument with a government agent, and it said a police investigation was underway including suspicions the incident was instigated to provide a cover to escape.

Meanwhile, the BBC said the Senate building was placed on lockdown with steel doors rolled down and that police and military personnel patrolled the senate grounds, with the standoff keeping the political atmosphere tense as the ICC case and local legal remedies remained unresolved.