Gunfire ERUPTS Outside Foreign Senate

Gunshots echoed through the Philippine Senate on May 13, 2026, as security forces chased a sitting lawmaker wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) through the halls of one of Asia’s oldest democratic institutions, and nobody can say with certainty who pulled the trigger.

Story Snapshot

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, former national police chief and chief enforcer of Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, resisted ICC arrest inside the Philippine Senate building as gunshots rang out and staff were ordered to run for cover.
The ICC wants dela Rosa for alleged crimes against humanity connected to the killing of thousands of mostly low-level drug suspects between 2016 and 2018.
National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag publicly denied his agency deployed any agents, leaving the identity of the shooters officially unresolved.
Allied senators placed dela Rosa under protective custody while the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms locked down the building, turning a legislative chamber into a standoff arena.

What Actually Happened Inside the Senate Building

At least 15 gunshots were reported inside the Philippine Senate in Pasay, Manila, as security forces entered the building in what appeared to be an attempt to detain dela Rosa. [5] Witnesses, including Al Jazeera correspondent Jamela Alindogan, reported police and marines entering the chamber. [3] Staff, media, and Senate personnel were told to run for cover as the Sergeant-at-Arms announced a full lockdown. Dela Rosa, surrounded by allied senators, refused to leave the building and was placed under what supporters called protective custody. [9]

Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla arrived on the scene and made a statement that raised more questions than it answered: he said he did not come to arrest dela Rosa and assured those present that no arrest would be made. [8] Meanwhile, National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag told GMA News that no NBI agents had been deployed to the Senate that evening. [6] If neither the interior ministry nor the NBI sent armed personnel, who fired those shots? That question remains officially open as of this writing.

The ICC Charges That Triggered the Crisis

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for dela Rosa tied to his role as the operational commander of Duterte’s war on drugs, a campaign that left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead between 2016 and 2018. [5] The ICC’s warrant references the alleged crime against humanity of murder of no fewer than 32 documented individuals directly attributable to dela Rosa’s command authority during his tenure as Philippine National Police chief. [9] Dela Rosa’s public response has been jurisdictional, not evidentiary: he argues the cases belong in Philippine courts, not an international tribunal. That is a defensible legal position, but it is not the same as disputing the underlying facts about who died and under whose command.

The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under Duterte, a move that dela Rosa and his allies cite as grounds for rejecting the court’s authority entirely. [10] Philippine legal scholars are divided on whether that withdrawal shields current officials from warrants issued for conduct that occurred while the country was still a member. The ICC itself has taken the position that withdrawal does not extinguish jurisdiction over crimes committed during membership. That dispute is not resolved, and it sits at the center of everything that happened on May 13.

Why This Looks Different From a Simple Arrest Operation

The chaotic and contradictory nature of the operation is striking. A legitimate, coordinated arrest of an ICC-wanted suspect does not typically involve the interior minister showing up to announce that no arrest is being made, or the lead investigative agency denying it sent anyone. [6] [8] Either the operation was unauthorized and improvised, or the denials came after the fact to manage political fallout. Neither explanation reflects well on the Marcos administration’s handling of an extraordinarily sensitive moment in Philippine legal history.

Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan witnessed gunshots and chaos as police and marines entered the Philippine Senate to arrest former President Rodrigo Duterte’s ally, Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, who is wanted by the ICC over the country’s deadly ‘war on drugs’. pic.twitter.com/NKrKpPGaqk

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 13, 2026

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told the public to stay calm, framing the Senate confrontation as a security matter rather than a constitutional crisis. [9] That framing serves his political interests but sidesteps the harder question: what legal framework governs an ICC arrest attempt inside a sovereign legislative building when the executive branch simultaneously authorizes and disavows the operation? Thirteen of twenty-four senators reportedly backed dela Rosa’s resistance, giving the standoff enough institutional weight to hold, at least for now. [10] Whether that majority holds under sustained ICC and executive pressure is the next chapter in a story that is far from finished.