PASAY CITY, Philippines — A tense standoff at the Philippine Senate turned violent on the evening of Wednesday, May 13, 2026, as multiple gunshots rang out within the legislative complex. The incident occurred while the building was under lockdown to protect Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who has been holed up in his office to evade an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
Despite the gunfire, officials have confirmed there were no reported injuries, though the event has triggered a major security and political crisis.
The shooting began around 7:46 p.m., sending senators, staff, and journalists scrambling for cover.
- Gunfire in the Halls: Witnesses reported hearing at least a dozen shots, some appearing to come from automatic weapons, along a second-floor corridor near an access point connected to the GSIS building.
- Active Shooter Protocols: Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano ordered the lights turned off and instructed everyone to “stay low.” In a Facebook Live broadcast, a visibly shaken Cayetano asked, “Why are we under attack? This is the Senate of the Philippines.”
- Tip-Off: Cayetano revealed that four senators had received “tips” roughly 30 minutes before the shooting, warning them to leave the building because “something was going to happen.”
The source of the gunfire remains a point of intense dispute between Senate leadership and executive law enforcement.
| Agency | Stance / Statement |
| Senate Secretariat | Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza claimed individuals “perceived to be NBI agents” tried to force entry and fired as they retreated. |
| National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) | Director Melvin Matibag categorically denied any agents were at the Senate, stating, “We had no order to arrest Bato today.” |
| Armed Forces (AFP) | At the Senate’s request, a detachment of Marines in full combat gear was deployed to secure the facility following the initial shots. |
| Malacañang | President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a late-night video message calling for calm and insisting no government personnel were authorized to use force. |
Senator Dela Rosa, the chief architect of the Duterte-era “War on Drugs,” has not left the Senate since Monday, when he dramatically outran agents in a hallway chase.
- Appeal to the Military: Hours before the shooting, Dela Rosa released a video appealing to his “mistahs” (classmates) in the Philippine Military Academy to protect him from being “handed over to foreigners.”
- Supreme Court Petition: He has filed an emergency petition for a Temporary Restraining Order (RO) to block his transfer to The Hague. The High Court has given all parties 72 hours to respond.
- Refusal to Surrender: Dela Rosa maintains that since the Philippines is no longer a member of the Rome Statute, the ICC has no jurisdiction. “I will face any charge in a Filipino court, but not before a foreign bouncer,” he stated.
The violence occurred as the Senate was also preparing for the formal transmission of Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte from the House of Representatives.
The “Battle for the Senate” has effectively paralyzed legislative business, with the building now surrounded by a heavy police presence and hundreds of pro-Duterte protesters.