Overview
- Reporters heard volleys of gunshots at the Senate on Wednesday after uniformed troops entered the building, with officials saying it was unclear who fired and that there were no reported casualties.
- Ronald dela Rosa has stayed inside the Senate under protective custody since Monday after the ICC unsealed a November 2025 warrant that names him an indirect co‑perpetrator in murders during the 2016 to 2018 drug crackdown, with CCTV showing him sprinting from agents.
- Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said the chamber would only honor an arrest ordered by a Philippine court, and NBI director Melvin Matibag said agents would not seize the senator while he is in Senate custody.
- Dela Rosa filed an emergency petition asking the Supreme Court to stop any handover to The Hague and used Facebook livestreams to urge supporters to block his transfer, drawing protests and heavier police and military deployments around the complex.
- The ICC relies on national authorities to carry out arrests, and former president Rodrigo Duterte was detained by Philippine police in March 2025 and sent to The Hague, underscoring the stakes for Manila’s cooperation in this case.