Philippine Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano announced on May 14 that Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, had left the Senate building. “The building manager confirmed he is no longer inside the building,” Cayetano told reporters.
The announcement came a day after gunfire erupted at the Senate, where Dela Rosa had been hiding. The incident caused chaos in the legislative complex, forcing many to scramble for cover. Hours earlier, Dela Rosa had called on supporters to mobilize on social media, alleging law enforcement planned to arrest him.
The situation triggered a heavy police and military presence at the Senate. Protests broke out outside, and more than a dozen shots were fired after Marines were deployed to assist. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. convened an emergency meeting with government and security officials on May 14.
Police spokesperson Randulf Tuano said one person had been arrested after the shooting. “The individual gave a name, but verification is still needed,” Tuano told DZBB radio. Meanwhile, two independent and reliable sources confirmed that Dela Rosa left the building around 2-3 a.m. on May 14, according to Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan in Manila.
Lawyer Jimmy Bondoc, representing Dela Rosa, said he spoke with his client late at night and believed he was still in the Senate after the incident. “As his lawyer, I asked whether he planned to leave; he said no,” Bondoc stated. However, in a DZBB interview on the morning of May 14, Dela Rosa said he would “use every possible measure” to prevent being transferred to the ICC, and after learning about Duterte’s detention conditions, he was no longer willing to fight the case in The Hague.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa on May 12, charging him with crimes against humanity linked to the bloody drug war under former President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte faces the same charges and has been detained in The Hague since March 2025. The ICC estimates that 12,000 to 30,000 people were killed in the drug war from 2016 to 2019.
