Overview
- Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who had been under Senate protection, slipped out of the building overnight after Wednesday’s shooting inside the complex, and officials said no one was hurt.
- Police opened a criminal probe and detained one person after recovering bullet casings and rifle magazines from the scene, with investigators working to verify names the detainee provided.
- Accounts of the gunfire conflict, as the Senate’s security chief said National Bureau of Investigation personnel raised rifles and drew warning shots while the NBI said its agents never entered the chamber.
- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called an emergency security meeting and denied ordering an arrest, and the acting Senate sergeant-at-arms was later suspended as authorities examine whether the chaos enabled the escape.
- The ICC unsealed a warrant alleging crimes against humanity tied to at least 32 killings when dela Rosa led the national police, his Supreme Court petitions to block any handover are pending, and national officials say they will seek to comply with the court even as political tensions rise.