Gunfire in the Philippine Senate as a politician wanted by the ICC urges people to unite
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Gunfire erupted in the Philippine Senate on Wednesday 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.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief who was a major promoter of the “war on drugs” of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, had earlier called on people to unite to prevent his arrest and transfer to the ICC.
The Hague-based court on Monday opened an arrest warrant for dela Rosa for crimes against humanity, similar to those that Duterte, 81, is accused of as he awaits his trial at the ICC following his replacement last year.
Dela Rosa, 64, denied that he was involved in extrajudicial killings.
“I’m begging you, I hope you can help me. Don’t 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 he was detained under the protection of the law.
Mendoza, the secretary of the Senate, said that the police who are believed to be from the National Bureau of Investigation tried to enter the Senate and shot when they retreated.
The NBI says no agents were used
But NBI director Melvin Matibag told GMA News that no agents were used.
“I talked to [justice] minister and told me to wait for instructions. We have no preparations at all,” he said.
More than 10 soldiers wearing camouflage fatigues arrived, some carrying guns, Reuters reporters said.
Public affairs office official Xerxes Trinidad told Reuters that the Senate had asked for help “to help them find this facility.”
The Minister of the Interior, Jonvic Remulla, said that it is not yet clear who shot and the security footage will need to be looked at. He said dela Rosa is safe and assured him that no one will be arrested.
The prosecutor’s office at the ICC referred requests for comment to the court. The court’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Duterte’s lieutenant is a great host
Dela Rosa was Duterte’s lieutenant who oversaw a crackdown in which thousands of suspected drug dealers were killed, with human rights groups accusing the police of organized killings and cover-ups.
The police deny the allegations and say that more than 6,000 people killed in anti-drug operations were all armed and refused to be arrested.
Activists say the true death toll may not be known, with users and temporary vendors being shot almost daily in mysterious slum killings blamed on vigilantes and turf wars.
The Senate was heavily guarded throughout Wednesday, with lines of police deployed to keep the peace as protesters gathered, some demanding the arrest of dela Rosa, better known in the Philippines as “Bato,” or “the rock.”
His colleague, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, said he spoke to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who assured him that no one working for the government was involved in Wednesday’s incident.
Dela Rosa, who returned to the Senate on Monday for the first time since disappearing from public view in November, has pleaded with Marcos not to hand him over to the ICC.
He also filed an urgent petition with the Supreme Court asking it to block any attempts to extradite him to The Hague. The court in a statement on Wednesday gave all parties involved in this request 72 hours to respond.
Dela Rosa insists that any transfer to the ICC would be illegal, as the country is no longer a signatory to its Rome Statute.
Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018 when its prosecutor announced the first test in his anti-drug campaign. The ICC says the crimes were committed while the country was a member of its jurisdiction.
Duterte will be the first Asian head of state to be tried at the ICC, the court that dared to go after him when he gave public speeches, saying that he is ready to “rot in prison” to protect his people from the scourge of drugs.
He maintains his innocence, according to his legal team.
