Gunshots broke out at the Philippine Senate yesterday and people ran for cover after a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court said his arrest was imminent and security forces entered the building.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, however, Senate Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza told reporters following the chaos at the legislature in the capital Manila.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief who was the main enforcer of ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs”, had earlier urged people to mobilise to prevent his arrest and handover to the ICC.
The Hague-based court on Monday unsealed an arrest warrant for dela Rosa on charges of crimes against humanity, the same that 81-year-old Duterte is accused of as he awaits trial in the ICC following his transfer last year.
Dela Rosa, 64, has denied involvement in illegal killings.
“I am appealing to you, I hope you can help me. Do not allow another Filipino to be brought to The Hague,” he said in a video on Facebook from his Senate office, where he has taken refuge since Monday when placed under legislative protection.
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