Gunshots fired in Philippines senate in standoff with senator Ronald dela Rosa

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Senator accused of crimes against humanity by international criminal court has holed up in building to evade arrest

Gunshots have been fired in the Philippine senate, as a senator who is wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) remained holed up in the building to evade arrest.

Ronald dela Rosa, a Philippine senator accused of crimes against humanity for his role in overseeing the former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”, has spent two nights in the country’s senate in a standoff with the authorities.

It is unclear who fired the shots, or why troops were present at the senate. The interior secretary, Jonvic Remulla, referring to Dela Rosa by his nickname, told media outside the building: “I will not arrest Senator Bato. I am here to secure everyone.”

Dela Rosa, 64, who was the chief enforcer of Duterte’s merciless anti-drugs crackdown, dramatically evaded arrest on Monday when he outran government agents who chased him through the senate’s hallways and staircases. He managed to reach the building chamber, where the senate president, an ally of Duterte, offered him protective custody.

Duterte was arrested last year in Manila and sent to the ICC, where he faces charges of crimes against humanity over the crackdowns, in which thousands were killed.

Late on Wednesday, military personnel arrived inside the senate building, some carrying assault rifles. Local media showed scenes of chaos, and the sound of gunfire later rung out.

The senate secretary, Mark Llandro Mendoza, told reporters there had not been any casualties reported. The situation was still being assessed after an undetermined number of law enforcers attempted to enter the building, he said.

Dela Rosa had earlier called for his supporters to gather in front of the senate on Wednesday, telling a press conference: “Let us not allow another Filipino to be taken to The Hague.”

He has remained in the senate since Monday’s pursuit, which was captured on the building’s CCTV. He had appealed to the military to peacefully oppose moves to send him to The Hague, and sang part of the Philippine military academy hymn in front of a media scrum.

“I am not appealing for violent support. I am appealing for peaceful support,” Dela Rosa told reporters, as he urged his “fellow men in uniform” to “express their sentiment” that Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s government “should not hand me over to foreigners”.

Alan Peter Cayetano, the senate president, posted a video on Facebook from inside the building, saying he was willing to meet anyone who wished to serve an arrest warrant. He instructed people to turn off the lights and stay low for their safety.

“We don’t know what’s happening, everyone is locked in their rooms now, we cannot go out. We cannot secure our other staff,” he said. “This is the senate of the Philippines,” he added, appealing to law enforcement agencies for information. “What is happening? Why are we under attack here?”

“We heard that allegedly there are NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] members who want to enter. There are seen drilling door, walls,” Cayetano said.

He said he and others were “not going to leave” Dela Rosa and legal remedies to avoid his transfer to The Hague had not yet been exhausted.

Dela Rosa has filed an emergency petition to the supreme court asking it to block any attempt to send him to the ICC. The court has given all parties to the petition 72 hours to respond.

Marcos was once an ally of the vice-president, Sara Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter. However, the two politicians are now embroiled in a fierce battle, which intensified last year when her father was arrested.

Dela Rosa is accused by the ICC of murder along with Duterte and other co-perpetrators. He did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, but has denied wrongdoing.

An arrest warrant accuses him of “authorising, condoning and promoting” the killings, providing weapons, promising impunity and rewarding perpetrators, according to an ICC arrest warrant that was unsealed on Monday.

Reports that Dela Rosa could face arrest first surfaced in November and he had been missing from the senate for months. However, he made a surprise appearance on Monday, when he turned up to back a successful attempt to install Cayetano, a staunch ally of the Duterte family, as senate president.

The ICC, not to be confused with the UN’s international court of justice, deals with accusations of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity and is made up of 125 member states.

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