Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said Wednesday that gunshots were heard at the Philippine Senate Building following a chaotic attempt to arrest a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court earlier this week.
It is unclear who fired the shots in the incident. Senate Secretary Mark Landro Mendoza told reporters Wednesday night that no casualties were reported.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know if we can keep our people safe here,” Cayetano said on a Facebook livestream from inside the Senate complex. “I’m going to go out. I’m going to confront anyone who tries to execute the warrant…but please don’t do that.”
This comes after Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a longtime ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, was caught on surveillance camera running through the halls of the Senate early Monday morning with local officials. When local law enforcement failed to arrest the 64-year-old man after tracking him to the Capitol, riot police surrounded the Senate grounds.
Mr. de la Rosa has not left the Senate grounds since Monday.
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have accused Mr. de la Rosa of conspiring with Mr. Duterte to commit alleged crimes against humanity during a brutal anti-drug campaign that left thousands of people dead. On Monday, the ICC confirmed it had issued a warrant for his arrest for the killings of 32 people between 2016 and 2018.
On Wednesday night, Philippine Secretary of the Interior and Local Government John Vic Remulla entered the Senate Building after receiving permission from Senate President Cayetano. Remura told local media that all senators inside the building were safe and that he was working to determine who fired the shots.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
