Foreign Affairs

muriel_volestrangler

(106,566 posts) Wed May 13, 2026, 09:51 AM Wednesday

Philippine Senate in lockdown after gunshots fired; senator is wanted by the ICC

The Philippine Senate is in lockdown with military personnel seen entering the building where a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court had sought refuge.

Rounds of gunfire have been heard – it's not clear who fired the shots. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa said earlier he believed his arrest was imminent and urged Filipinos to prevent it. His whereabouts are currently unclear.

He is accused by the ICC of killing dozens of people when he was police chief during former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, in which thousands of alleged dealers were shot and killed. Duterte has been held at The Hague since March 2025.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnvp730yd52o

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Philippine Senate in lockdown after gunshots fired; senator is wanted by the ICC (Original Post) muriel_volestrangler Wednesday OP

Philippines vows to hand fugitive senator to ICC following shootout muriel_volestrangler 6 hrs ago #1

muriel_volestrangler

(106,566 posts)

1. Philippines vows to hand fugitive senator to ICC following shootout

Reply to muriel_volestrangler (Original post)

Fri May 15, 2026, 05:23 PM

6 hrs ago

The Philippines has pledged to cooperate with a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to detain a prominent politician who evaded arrest earlier this week as he fled the Senate building despite efforts by the army to arrest him and reports of gunfire.

Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said on Friday that Manila had received the court’s arrest warrant for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the country’s former national police chief, and considers it valid.
...
It was not clear who fired the shots, but by Thursday, the Senate president confirmed that dela Rosa was no longer in the building.

With the senator’s whereabouts unknown, Vida warned that any efforts to help dela Rosa leave the country would be treated as a “mockery of justice”.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/15/philippines-vows-to-hand-fugitive-senator-to-icc-following-shootout

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