Jamaine Punzalan

Members of the Philippine National Police and  the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) ask members of the press to leave the senate hall after consecutive gunshots were heard on the evening of May 13, 2026. The source of the gunfire remains unknown and is currently under investigation. Earlier on Wednesday, the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed it may serve an arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa at any time today, in connection with a crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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SEN BATO DELA ROSA- ARREST- GUNSHOTS

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<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/177907880896120260513-senate-gunshots-security-pnp-MT3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Members of the Philippine National Police and  the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) ask members of the press to leave the senate hall after consecutive gunshots were heard on the evening of May 13, 2026. The source of the gunfire remains unknown and is currently under investigation. Earlier on Wednesday, the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed it may serve an arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa at any time today, in connection with a crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was dismayed with the chaos that ensued in the Senate last week, Malacañang said on Monday, contradicting Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano’s claim that the chamber came “under attack.”</p><p>Cayetano made the claim last week after gunshots triggered chaos in the legislative halls on the third day of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa’s stay in the Senate, where he has been seeking refuge to evade arrest since he resurfaced from hiding on May 11.</p><p>“Was it under attack? It was not. The Senate was not under attack,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a Palace briefing.</p><p>“It was only the statement made by Sen. Alan Cayetano. As far as the government is concerned, the Senate was never under attack,” she said.</p><div><em><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rDqz40rr2Tw?&amp;t=1310s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></em></div><div><br/></div><p>On May 11, days before the shooting incident, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) tried to arrest Dela Rosa over an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), but was outrun by the lawmaker, who eventually secured protective custody from the Senate.</p><p>On May 13, hours after shots were fired in the Senate, Dela Rosa fled the premises, with authorities still unable to track the lawmaker, who is tagged as a co-conspirator in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity case before the ICC.</p><p>“Sa huling pangyayari patungkol doon sa diumano na pagtakas at pagkawala kahit na may protective custody ang Senado nakakadismaya naman talaga,” Castro said.</p><p>“Noong nagkaroon po ng meeting inalam niya kung anong pangyayari at makikita mo sa hitsura ng Pangulo at kung papaano siya magtanong sa mga Cabinet secretaries, nandoon po iyong disappointment hindi sa Cabinet secretaries kung hindi sa pangyayari sa Senado,” she said.</p><p>The Palace added that the NBI agents who were deployed to the Senate on May 11 were “blocked” from serving the warrant.</p><p>“There was no failure on the part of the NBI agents. Hinarang sila,” Castro said.</p><p>“The question is, was theSenate correct in interfering with the service of the warrant of arrest?” she said.</p><p>“Dito makikita ninyo kung sino ang may respeto sa isang institusyon at sino ang hindi rumespeto sa batas.”</p><p>Cayetano and his allies in the Senate have repeatedly claimed that Dela Rosa did not escape from the Senate as the lawmaker was free to leave the premises since no Philippine court has issued an arrest warrant against the former chief implementor of Duterte’s drug war.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nglf6GIw0pc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/92Sxl8F4c0M?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div>

<p>Malacanang disputed Monday Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano's assertion that the chamber came under attack during the May 13 shooting incident.</p>

Malacanang disputed Monday Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano's assertion that the chamber came under attack during the May 13 shooting incident.

Palace: Senate ‘was not under attack’

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Palace: Senate ‘was not under attack’

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 18, 2026 12:26 PM PHT

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Updated May 18, 2026 03:35 PM PHT

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Senate

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