Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa ran up a Senate staircase on May 11, 2026, with agents of the National Bureau of Investigation behind him. CCTV footage captured the chase. By that night the Senate was under lockdown, with barbed wire at the entrances.
The agents were there to serve an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for crimes against humanity tied to the drug war under former President Rodrigo Duterte, a close ally of dela Rosa. The ICC had named dela Rosa and seven others as indirect co-perpetrators in February 2026. On May 9 it denied Philippine media reports that it had publicly issued a warrant, and it later confirmed one existed.
The chase
Dela Rosa had been absent from the Senate since November 11, 2025. He reappeared on May 11 to vote in the election for Senate president, in which Alan Peter Cayetano defeated incumbent Tito Sotto, 13 votes to nine, with two abstentions. Former senator Antonio Trillanes and NBI agents also arrived, and Trillanes showed reporters a copy of the warrant. “We will not let Bato leave,” he said.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said two female agents were serving the warrant at the basement entrance when dela Rosa pushed them aside, and they pursued him into the building. Dela Rosa told reporters the agents had blocked and wrestled him. “I ended up with these wounds,” he said. CCTV showed no wrestling, and he later admitted his hands were hurt when he tripped on a stairwell.
The Senate then granted him protective custody. Former senator Franklin Drilon objected: “There is no law which says that a senator can be protected or exempt from a warrant of arrest.” On May 12, Sotto, Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino filed a resolution urging dela Rosa to surrender, saying the Senate could not offer protective custody from lawful arrest. Cayetano defended dela Rosa and rejected it.
Dela Rosa appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not to enforce the warrant. Malacañang replied that “he’s entitled to rights if arrest happens.” His lawyers asked the Supreme Court for a temporary restraining order, and the court declined on May 13. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said local police could not enforce an ICC warrant unless it came through Interpol.
Gunfire on May 13
On May 13, at least 12 gunshots were reportedly heard inside the GSIS Building, which houses the Senate, as the articles of impeachment against Sara Duterte were being transmitted to the chamber. Staff and journalists were told to evacuate or take shelter. Most of the shots were warning shots from the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, led by Mao Aplasca, after alleged NBI agents entered the premises. No casualties were reported.
Matibag denied that any NBI agents were inside the Senate. He said 18 agents were stationed at the GSIS compound at the request of the GSIS director, and that one agent was “forced” to fire six warning shots from outside after the sergeant-at-arms fired first. Several agencies are investigating.
That evening, more than 10 armed soldiers in camouflage arrived at the building. The sergeant-at-arms ordered the press out at 7:06 pm and gave reporters five minutes to leave. Earlier, at 4:00 pm, dela Rosa had sung parts of the Philippine Military Academy hymn as an appeal for “peaceful support” and rejected calls to surrender. In the early hours of the next morning he left the Senate with Senator Robin Padilla and a retired colonel, and was driven to Makati.
Sources
- Philippine Senate Lockdown: Gunshots Amid ICC Standoff | JFeed
- Attempts to arrest Ronald dela Rosa – Wikipedia
