Gunshots rang out in Senate amid Bato’s ICC warrant threat; probe underway

The Senate turned into an intense chaos after over a dozen gunshots rang out inside the building around 7:30 p.m on Wednesday amid reports of Senator Bato de la Rosa’s arrest on an International Criminal Court warrant.

The commotion erupted just shortly after Senate Secretary Sargeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca and his troops, clad with bulletproof vests and heavily armed, went to the second building’s second-floor hall.

Members of the press are stationed on the same floor. It remains unclear, however, who fired the shots.

Prior to the firing, the Senate was placed on a total lockdown. Drilling noise also echoed within the Senate’s ground floor. 

The Senate compound was also heavily guarded, and armed men were seen on the second floor, where the plenary hall is stationed, following the adjournment.

The ruckus follows speculation that authorities are already enforcing the ICC warrant against De la Rosa after the Supreme Court declined to issue a temporary restraining order sought by his camp to block the ICC’s arrest. 

De la Rosa has been housed in the Senate since Monday, safeguarding him from authorities, while he exhausts legal remedies in the Philippines.

Earlier on the same day, Aplasca, who assumed the post this week following his predecessor's resignation, told reporters that he would not allow any arrest to be made within the institution, in compliance with the Senate leadership’s directive.

Senate Secretary-General Mark Llandro Mendoza suspected that the operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation stormed the building. He also alleged that they fired the gunshots. NBI Director, however, denied that NBI agents were deployed in the Senate.

The gunshots also triggered panic among senators and Senate employees, who were still inside the building when the gunshots rang out. A group of journalists was not able to immediately vacate the building and was locked inside. 

DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla arrived at the Senate around 8:30 p.m. to “secure the senators,” and clarified that he will not arrest De la Rosa. 

An hour after entering the Senate building, Remulla told reporters that armed men entered through the second floor of the building, but the “warning shot” was fired by OSAA.

“The OSAA gave a warning shot, then they started firing into the air,” he said in an ambush. “That’s as far as we know. That is not conclusive. We still have to review the footages.”

Senate President Alan Cayetano said they will review all CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators, adding that a comprehensive, “no-holds-barred” investigation will be launched.

Cayetano and Remulla refused to confirm whether the NBI operatives are the suspects. 

An intense standoff also ensued on Monday after NBI operatives attempted to arrest De la Rosa, who made a surprise return to the Senate following a six-month-long absence, on an ICC warrant. 

The attempt, however, was unsuccessful after De la Rosa narrowly escaped the agents, who were running after him inside the building. 

De la Rosa is the latest to emerge on the list of wanted high-profile individuals by the ICC, coming on the heels of efforts to evade its warrant by seeking refuge in the Senate. 

The ICC unsealed the warrant against De la Rosa earlier this week, although the order to arrest him was issued as early as 6 November last year. 

As of Wednesday, De la Rosa remained adamant about his refusal to surrender to authorities serving the ICC warrant unless it is issued by a Philippine court. 

“Kung gusto nila akong ipako sa krus, dito sa arting Philippine courts. Huwag doon sa dayuhan... I’m willing to be hang dito sating bansa,”

De la Rosa argued that the Philippines is “no under obligation” to carry out the warrant because the Philippines is no longer a state party to the Rome Statute—the ICC’s founding treaty.