Gunshots heard in Philippines senate building where senator is hiding

by · UPI

May 13 (UPI) -- Gunshots were heard in the Philippines Senate on Wednesday, where a senator is hiding from authorities with an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.

It's not clear who fired the shots, and no casualties have been reported, senators told reporters on Wednesday, CNN reported.

"I don't know what is happening. I do not know if I can keep my people safe here," Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said in a Facebook livestream from inside the Senate complex after the gunshots. "I'm willing to go out. I'm willing to face anyone who is going to serve the warrant ... but do not do this."

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, 64, is accused of the crimes by the International Criminal Court for his role in overseeing former President Rodrigo Duterte's "war on drugs." He has spent two nights in the Senate building in a standoff.

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Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla told reporters outside the building, "I will not arrest Senator Bato [Dela Rosa's nickname]. I am here to secure everyone."

Dela Rosa, an ally of Duterte, was seen on surveillance camera running from local agents through the halls of the senate Monday. When local police couldn't catch him, riot police surrounded the senate compound.

Prosecutors at the ICC accuse Dela Rosa of conspiring with Duterte in an anti-drug campaign that killed thousands. On Monday, the ICC said it had issued an arrest warrant for him, citing incidents in which 32 people were killed between 2016 to 2018.

Dela Rosa had asked his supporters to protest in front of the Senate on Wednesday, saying at a press conference: "Let us not allow another Filipino to be taken to The Hague."

"I am not appealing for violent support. I am appealing for peaceful support," Dela Rosa told reporters, and he asked "fellow men in uniform" to "express their sentiment" that the government "should not hand me over to foreigners," The Guardian reported.

Cayetano expressed confusion about the situation.

"We don't know what's happening, everyone is locked in their rooms now, we cannot go out. We cannot secure our other staff," Cayetano said. "This is the senate of the Philippines," he said. "What is happening? Why are we under attack here?"

"We heard that allegedly there are [National Bureau of Investigation] members who want to enter. They are seen drilling doors, walls," Cayetano said.

Cayetano said he and others wouldn't leave Dela Rosa.

In April, an ICC panel of judges ruled there is enough evidence to send Duterte, 81, to trial on crimes against humanity charges. He is jailed in The Hague, the Netherlands, awaiting trial.

Duterte's daughter, Sara Duterte, is now the vice president of the Philippines. She was impeached for a second time on Monday on charges of misusing funds.

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