Gunshots sent senators into hiding at the Senate after Sen. Ronald dela Rosa sought refuge, triggering investigations and calls for calm.
MULTIPLE gunshots sent senators into hiding in their offices late Wednesday, after Sen.. Ronald dela Rosa, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), sought refuge in the legislative building.At least five shots rang out, journalists inside the Senate said, minutes after soldiers with rifles and protective gear went up the stairs of the building.The dramatic scene unfolded as dela Rosa, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s top enforcer during his bloody drug war, holed up in the
Senate complex to dodge arrest and transfer to the Netherlands over alleged crimes against humanity.His whereabouts after the shooting were not immediately known.’I talked to the senators and they told me there were shots fired.. As of now, the report is no one is hurt,’ said Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who arrived on the scene minutes later.Remulla said ‘the perpetrators are not identified’ as police went into the building in search of the shooter or
shooters.He also said he was not at the scene to arrest dela Rosa, but to protect him.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. appealed for calm and insisted that no orders were given to arrest dela Rosa.In a video, Marcos said he was closely monitoring developments and immediately called Remulla and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Melvin Matibag to seek clarification on the shooting incident.“We don’t know who tried to enter and then because of that there was
a shooting, we will find out, we are taking and collecting that, all the evidence that is there.. We need to know that.. That’s why the Senate and the PNP (Philippine National Police) will investigate this together.. I can only say that so that the people don’t worry, the government did not do this,” he said in Filipino.“We will get to the bottom of this.. We will find out who really did this,” he added.Earlier
Wednesday, dela Rosa had appealed to the military to oppose attempts to detain him, urging former colleagues to resist any move by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government to hand him over to the ICC.’My fellow men in uniform’ should ‘express their sentiment’ that the government ‘should not hand me over to foreigners,’ he said.Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, who had barred government agents from arresting his ally dela Rosa, said on his official Facebook page
he did not know who had fired the shots.’We heard gunshots and we don’t know what is happening.. Everyone’s locked in their rooms now.. We cannot go out, we cannot secure our other staff,’ he added.. ‘Why are we under attack here?’Melvin Matibag, director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) whose agents had attempted to arrest dela Rosa at the Senate on Monday, denied that his officers had fired their guns.’We were on a
stand down,’ he told ABS-CBN network in an interview, adding there were no NBI agents inside the Senate when the shooting occurred.In a livestreamed briefing, Cayetano said senators received warnings to leave the area shortly before the incident.“Four senators got tips 30 minutes ago while we were talking to leave because something might happen,” he said in English and Filipino.
Senate building shooting, Ronald dela Rosa, ICC wanted senator, Jonvic Remulla, Alan Peter Cayetano, NBI stand down, Marcos Jr appealed for calm