MANILA, May 14 — Police said Thursday they detained a person in connection with gunfire the previous night inside the Philippine senate, where a lawmaker wanted by the International Criminal Court took refuge.

The shooting did not result in any casualties and came as the one-time enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug crackdown sheltered at the legislature.

It was not immediately clear how many suspects were involved in the shooting, with Philippine authorities saying investigation was ongoing.

“He (suspect) was arrested at the area of the incident, at the second floor of the senate building,” Philippine police spokesman Brigadier-General Randulf Tuano told reporters.

Police seized live ammunition from the man, who was being tested for gunshot residue.

Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla had said senate security fired “warning shots” at several unknown armed men who had gone up the senate stairway.

The gunmen later fired into the air and left, he added, while senators, including the fugitive Dela Rosa, barricaded themselves inside their offices.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa took refuge in the senate aiming to avoid arrest on a warrant from the ICC for the crime against humanity of murder.

Dela Rosa, known as “Bato”, served as national police chief from 2016 to 2018 during the early phase of Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.

The crackdown left thousands dead, many of them drug users and low-level narcotics peddlers, according to human rights monitors.

His boss Duterte was arrested in March last year, flown to the Netherlands on the same day, and is detained in The Hague awaiting trial. — AFP

MANILA, May 14 — The Philippines president called an ‌emergency meeting of top officials on Thursday amid widening political tensions, a day after gunfire rang out at ​the Senate where a lawmaker wanted by the International Criminal Court has been holed up fearing his arrest.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the former national police chief and chief enforcer of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs”, is wanted for crimes against humanity, the same charges Duterte is accused ‌of.

Duterte is set to become the first former Asian head of state to go on trial at the ICC.

Gunshots were heard late on Wednesday ​inside the Senate building and people inside scrambled for cover, hours after dela Rosa, better known as “Bato” or “Rock”, appealed on social media for supporters to mobilise, saying law enforcement agents were coming to take him from the legislature, where he had taken refuge.

The incident sparked chaos and confusion, with a heavy presence of police and armed guards at the Senate, protests outside and more than a dozen shots fired ​just moments after marines were called in to bolster security.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr was meeting government and security chiefs on Thursday, while police spokesperson Randulf Tuano said one person had been detained and investigations were underway, with bullet casings, assault rifle magazines and other items recovered.

“The person has provided names, but these still need confirmation,” Tuano told DZBB radio.

Dela Rosa whereabouts unclear

It was unclear who fired the shots, or if dela Rosa was still in the Senate on Thursday. Entering the heavily guarded building, his lawyer Jimmy Bondoc, said he spoke to him during the night and believed he was inside.

“As his lawyer, I asked him if you have ‌plans to leave, he said none,” Bondoc told reporters.

Marcos and government agencies have insisted no order was issued to arrest dela Rosa, with no announcements on Thursday on the ⁠identity of individuals who officials said tried to force their way into the building.

In an ⁠interview with DZBB aired early on Thursday, dela Rosa said he will “exhaust all available remedies” to block his transfer to ⁠the ICC and having learned about conditions Duterte was ⁠being held under, he was no longer ⁠willing to fight his case in The Hague.

It was unclear when the interview was conducted. Dela Rosa has denied involvement in illegal killings.

“Yes, things changed. It turns out it is not that easy to visit him,” he said of Duterte. “If we were co-detainees there’s no assurance we would be placed in the same cell or even in the same facility.”

Marcos ⁠vowed late on Wednesday to get to the bottom of the incident, as political tensions mounted over dela Rosa and Monday’s impeachment of the former president’s daughter Vice President Sara Duterte.

A protester (right) holds a placard calling to ‘throw’ Philippine Senator ‘Bato’ Ronald dela Rosa to the International Criminal Court, in front of the Senate in Manila on May 13, 2026. — AFP pic

‘Extraordinary rendition’

Sara Duterte, who is in The Hague visiting her father, was the running mate of Marcos, but their alliance broke down and she is now fighting for her political survival, facing an impeachment trial in the Senate that could derail her run for the next presidency in 2028.

“What we are seeing now is the administration using all government resources to demolish political opposition or individuals who do not follow, agree with, or support (Marcos),” she said in comments shared by her office.

She said she had not ⁠spoken with dela Rosa since before the gunfire incident and said he was about to be the subject of extraordinary rendition, likening it to what she called her father’s illegal abduction and transfer to the ICC last year.

“That is how the world saw it then. And that is also ⁠what they are trying to do now to Senator Bato dela Rosa,” she said.

The Hague-based court unsealed an arrest warrant on Monday for dela Rosa, dated November, and he ⁠has filed an emergency appeal ⁠with the Supreme Court to block any transfer to the ICC, arguing it no longer has jurisdiction in the Philippines after the country withdrew from the court in 2018.

The court says it can ​investigate crimes committed prior to a country’s withdrawal.

Dela Rosa was Duterte’s top lieutenant, overseeing a fierce crackdown during ​which thousands of alleged drug dealers were slain, with rights groups accusing police of systematic ‌murders and cover-ups.

Police reject that and say the more than 6,000 killed in Project Double Barrel were all ​armed and had resisted arrest.

Activists say the real death ​toll may never be known, with users and small-time peddlers gunned down daily in mysterious slumland killings that police blamed on vigilantes and turf wars.  — Reuters

MANILA, May 13 — Volleys of gunshots were heard ‌at the Philippine Senate today and people were told to run for cover, Reuters witnesses heard, as chaos mounted in anticipation of an attempt to arrest ‌a top senator wanted by the International Criminal Court.

It was unclear what was happening or who fired the shots. More than 10 military personnel in camouflage fatigues had earlier arrived at the Senate building, some carrying assault rifles, Reuters journalists saw.

It was not immediately clear why troops were there and military officials could not immediately be reached for comment. It was unclear if other security personnel were inside the building.

It came as Ronald dela Rosa, the chief enforcer in former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war ‌on drugs”, said on Facebook his arrest was imminent and urged people ⁠to mobilise to prevent his handover to ⁠the ICC. 

Dela Rosa, who has taken refuge ⁠in his legislative office since Monday, ⁠called on ⁠the public to turn out and block his arrest, saying that law enforcement agents were on the way following the ICC’s unsealing of an arrest ⁠warrant. 

The warrant, dated November and made public on Monday, seeks the arrest of the former police chief on charges of crimes against humanity, the same crimes 81-year-old Duterte is accused of as he awaits trial in The Hague following his arrest last year.

“I am appealing to ⁠you, I hope you can help me. Do not allow another Filipino to be brought to The Hague,” dela Rosa said in a ⁠video posted on Facebook from his Senate office.

Dela Rosa, 64, was Duterte’s ⁠top lieutenant ⁠overseeing a fierce crackdown during which thousands of alleged drug dealers were slain, with human rights groups accusing police of systematic murders and cover-ups.

Police reject the allegations ‌and say the more than 6,000 killed in anti-drugs operations were all armed and had resisted arrest. — Reuters