Philippine president calls emergency meeting after chaos and shooting at Senate
MANILA 鈥 Philippine authorities were聽seeking confirmation on Thursday of reports that a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court had聽fled, a day聽after gunfire rang out at the聽Senate where he had taken refuge聽fearing his arrest.
Senator Ronald 鈥淏ato鈥 M. dela Rosa, the former national police chief and top enforcer of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 bloody 鈥渨ar on drugs鈥,聽has been under聽Senate protection and is wanted for crimes against humanity, the same charges Mr. Duterte is accused of.
鈥淪everal sources聽confirmed that the Senator, Senator Bato, is no longer in the聽Senate premises. But we are still getting聽confirmation,鈥 Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire A. Castro told a press conference.
Gunshots were heard late on Wednesday inside the聽Senate and people there scrambled for cover, hours聽after Mr. dela Rosa, 64, appealed on social media for supporters to mobilize, saying law enforcement agents were coming to arrest him.
The incident sparked聽chaos, with a heavy presence of police and armed guards at the聽Senate, protests outside and more than a dozen shots fired just moments聽after marines were called in to bolster security.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met security chiefs on Thursday and police said one person had been detained, with investigations underway to identify individuals who tried to enter the聽Senate, and bullet casings and assault rifle magazines recovered.
鈥淭he person聽has provided names, but these still need聽confirmation,鈥 police spokesperson Randulf Tuano told DZBB radio.
DELA ROSA WHEREABOUTS UNCLEAR
It was unclear who fired the shots, or if Mr. dela Rosa was still in the聽Senate on Thursday, with speculation rife that he had slipped away overnight.
The Hague-based court unsealed a warrant on Monday for his arrest, dated November, while聽he聽has filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court, arguing the聽ICC has no jurisdiction in the聽Philippines after its 2019 withdrawal from the international institution.
Earlier on Thursday, while entering the heavily guarded Senate, Mr. dela Rosa鈥檚 lawyer Jimmy Bondoc said he spoke to him during the night and believed he was inside.
鈥淚 asked him if you have plans to leave, he said none,鈥 Mr. Bondoc told reporters.
The tough-talking Mr. dela Rosa enjoyed celebrity status as Mr. Duterte鈥檚 top lieutenant, overseeing a fierce crackdown during which thousands of alleged drug dealers were slain, with rights groups accusing police of systematic murders聽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 peddlers gunned down daily in mysterious slumland killings that police blamed on vigilantes and turf wars.
Mr. Marcos聽has sought to distance his government from the聽Senate drama and insisted no order was given to apprehend Mr. dela Rosa, who on Tuesday appealed to the president not to arrest him.
National Bureau of Investigation chief Melvin A. Matibag聽confirmed intelligence officers from the agency were at a building near the聽Senate on Wednesday, but were unarmed.
The possibility the incident could have been staged was also part of the investigation, he said.
In an interview with DZBB aired early Thursday, Mr. dela Rosa said he will 鈥渆xhaust all available remedies鈥 to block his聽ICC transfer and having learned about conditions Mr. 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. Mr. dela Rosa聽has denied involvement in illegal killings.
BIG POLITICAL TEST FOR MARCOS
The聽Senate standoff is a major challenge to the authority of Mr. Marcos, who relied on support of the influential Duterte family to win a 2022 election before an acrimonious fallout that led to him handing over predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to the聽ICC.
Mr. Duterte, 81, is set to become the first former Asian head of state to go on trial at the聽ICC. He denies inciting police to commit murder.
Political tension聽has mounted in recent days over Mr. dela Rosa and Monday鈥檚 impeachment of the former president鈥檚 daughter, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio, Mr. Marcos鈥 former ally and running mate.
Ms. Duterte-Carpio, who is in The Hague visiting her father, is fighting for her political survival, facing an impeachment trial in the聽Senate that could derail her run for the next presidency in 2028.
鈥淲hat we are seeing now is the administration using all government resources to demolish political opposition,鈥 she said in comments shared by her office.
She said Mr. dela Rosa would be the subject of extraordinary rendition, likening it to what she called her father鈥檚 illegal abduction.
鈥淭hat is how the world saw it then. And that is also what they are trying to do now,鈥 she said. 鈥 Reuters
