Camille Naredo

The Senate building after a shooting incident on May 13, 2026. Darylle Sarmiento, ABS-CBN News

The Senate building after a shooting incident on May 13, 2026.

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SENATE

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1778681619473viber_image_2026-05-13_21-16-31-015.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="The Senate building after a shooting incident on May 13, 2026. Darylle Sarmiento, ABS-CBN News" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The Senate building after a shooting incident on May 13, 2026. <em>Darylle Sarmiento, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA <strong>(5th UPDATE)</strong> — Shots were heard at the Senate on Wednesday evening as the Sergeant-at-Arms announced a lockdown.</p><p>Its personnel also told media and staff to clear the second floor of the building, where reporters said at least 10 gunshots were heard.</p><p>The Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms earlier said they were going to arrest &quot;someone&quot; but did not give details.</p><p>The dramatic scenes unfolded as Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; Dela Rosa — former President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s top enforcer during his bloody drug war — remained holed up in the Senate complex.</p><p>He is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), but has been given protection by the Senate.</p><p>Dela Rosa&#x27;s whereabouts after the shooting were not immediately known.</p><p>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. government to hand him over.</p><p>&quot;My fellow men in uniform&quot; should &quot;express their sentiment&quot; that the government &quot;should not hand me over to foreigners&quot;, he said.</p><p>Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, in a live video posted on Facebook, said his group of senators will stick together.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re not going to leave each other. We will not leave Sen. Bato,&quot; he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>CAYETANO CONFIRMS GUNSHOTS</strong></div><p>In a video posted on Facebook, Cayetano said Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and his sister Sen. Pia Cayetano have managed to get in touch with Melvin Matibag, director of the National Bureau of Investigation.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2054530572723400961&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-05-13T10%3A18%3A11.504935%3A80434b05-e6e1-43fb-bd15-20cfc4563b63%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=47b6c45f0e20b6d7f0c75d4d40b8460ffc7cb08e&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:490px;height:538px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="2054530572723400961"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>He said Matibag told them that there were no NBI agents in the Senate since they had been told to leave.</p><p>He also said that Matibag told them the NBI could not approach the area.</p><p>Cayetano added four senators received tips while they were having a meeting to leave the area because &quot;something was going to happen.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/13/bato-dela-rosa-now-officially-included-in-icc-s-wanted-persons-list-1721">Bato dela Rosa now officially included in ICC&#x27;s wanted persons list<br/></a></div><p>&quot;The emotions are high here dahil bakit kami paalisin eh we&#x27;re waiting for the Articles of Impeachment and we&#x27;re having a meeting,&quot; he also said.</p><p>&quot;Kung sino ang nakikinig from the government, this is the Senate of the Philippines, we are allegedly under attack,&quot; Cayetano added.</p><p>Sen. Robin Padilla, meanwhile, was seen telling reporters to evacuate the premises but refused to divulge other information.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>REMULLA ARRIVES</strong></div><p>Interior secretary Jonvic Remulla arrived past 8 p.m., saying that his No. 1 priority was to &quot;secure the senators.&quot; He said that per the initial report that he received, no one was hurt in the incident.</p><p>However, the perpetrators have yet to be identified, Remulla also said.</p><p>&quot;I will not arrest Sen. Bato, just to be clear,&quot; Remulla said. &quot;I will not arrest him. I am not here to arrest him. I am here to secure everyone.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>NBI DENIES INVOLVEMENT</strong></div><p>Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, citing information from OSAA, said NBI agents fired first.</p><p>The NBI denied involvement in the incident, with Matibag saying on ANC that they had been told to &quot;stand down.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Wala po kami roon,&quot; Matibag said.</p><p>Matibag confirmed that he received a call from Sen. Legarda, who asked him to tell NBI agents to leave.</p><p>&quot;Sabi ko, wala kami [sa Senado],&quot; he added. &quot;Nagkataasan ng boses, sumisigaw si Sen. Pia sa background, sabi niya, &#x27;Do your job, find out kung sino.&#x27;&quot;</p><p>He further stressed that they have no orders to arrest Dela Rosa.</p><p>&quot;Hangga&#x27;t wala pong order [and] coordination with all the agencies involved, hindi po kami mage-effect ng arrest,&quot; said Matibag. </p><p>Estrada said the incident requires a &quot;full-blown investigation.&quot;</p><p>He said: &quot;Unang-una, masyado na nilang binastos ang institusyon ng Senado. Pangalawa, wala namang nagpaputok sa hanay ng mga Sergeant-at-Arms ng Senado.&quot; — <strong>with a report from Agence France-Presse</strong></p>

<p>The Sergeant-at-Arms locked down the Senate on Wednesday evening, with its personnel telling media and staff to clear the second floor of the building.</p>

The Sergeant-at-Arms locked down the Senate on Wednesday evening, with its personnel telling media and staff to clear the second floor of the building.

Shots heard as Senate on lockdown for 'someone's' arrest

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Shots heard as Senate on lockdown for 'someone's' arrest

ABS-CBN News

Published May 13, 2026 07:53 PM PHT

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Updated May 14, 2026 02:47 AM PHT

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Senate

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Ronald Dela Rosa

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