MANILA, Philippines — Shots were fired Wednesday evening at the Philippine Senate building where Senator Ronald dela Rosa has been taking refuge from law enforcement officials seeking his arrest on International Criminal Court charges, according to an Associated Press reporter and other witnesses present.
The cause of the shooting and whether anyone was wounded remained unclear. Dela Rosa has been under the protection of fellow senators inside the legislative building while Philippine officials attempt to apprehend him for potential transfer to the ICC.
Senate President Alan Cayetano made a brief statement to reporters, confirming that building security informed him of the gunfire before quickly departing without offering additional information.
“The emotions are high here,” Cayetano said. “This is the Senate of the Philippines and we are allegedly under attack.”
The ICC made public its arrest warrant for dela Rosa on Monday. The 64-year-old former national police commander oversaw President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug enforcement campaigns that resulted in the deaths of thousands of suspected low-level offenders.
The warrant, initially issued in November, accuses dela Rosa of murder as a crime against humanity involving “no less than 32 persons” during his tenure leading the national police from July 2016 through April 2018 under Duterte’s administration.
Dela Rosa has pledged to challenge the ICC warrant through all available legal channels. On Wednesday evening, he urged his supporters to come to the Senate complex to help block what he described as his imminent detention.
When National Bureau of Investigation officers attempted to take dela Rosa into custody Monday, he escaped to the Senate chamber and requested assistance from colleague senators. Cayetano announced at that time he would hold the government agents in contempt.
