Gunshots erupt in Philippines Senate, senator seeks safety

Senate officials reported on Wednesday that gunshots were heard in the Philippine Senate building, where a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court is barricaded to avoid arrest.

It is unclear who fired the shots in the incident, and no casualties have been reported, multiple senators told reporters on Wednesday night, News.Az reports, citing CNN.

“I don’t know what is happening. I do not know if I can keep my people safe here,” recently installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said in a Facebook livestream from inside the Senate complex in the immediate aftermath of the gunshots. “I’m willing to face anyone who is going to serve the warrant … but do not do this.”

It comes after Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a longtime ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, was captured on CCTV running from local agents through the halls of the Senate earlier on Monday. When local investigative unit officers failed to arrest the 64-year-old, having pursued him through the bowels of parliament, riot police surrounded the Senate compound.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) accuse Dela Rosa of conspiring with Duterte in alleged crimes against humanity, during a brutal anti-drug campaign that killed thousands. On Monday, the ICC confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant for him, citing incidents in which 32 people were killed between 2016 to 2018.

Dela Rosa has not left the Senate compound since Monday.

The Philippines country’s Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Jonvic Remulla entered the Senate building on Wednesday night, as Senate President Cayetano – also considered an ally of Duterte – allowed him to go inside. Remulla told local media that all senators inside the building are safe and he is working to determine who fired the shots.

Remulla has assured Dela Rosa that he will not be served with an arrest warrant. The interior secretary also said that Dela Rosa will remain in the building as authorities do a security sweep.

Meanwhile, police have entered the Senate building and ordered all reporters and other personnel to leave, local journalists told CNN. Senate security staff have put down the building’s steel door to lock themselves inside after reporters moved outside.

In a later Facebook livestream, Cayetano said that “so far everyone is safe,” including Dela Rosa, adding that Senate authorities are still investigating the source of the gunfire and will allow people to leave “when we’re sure they are not suspects.”

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli