Shooting and chaos inside the Philippine Senate

Witnesses from Reuters heard the sound of bullets in the Philippine Senate building yesterday, and people were directed to take cover, in light of the escalating chaos in anticipation of an attempt to arrest the senior member of the Senate, Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Reuters journalists saw more than 10 soldiers wearing camouflage clothing when they arrived earlier at the Senate building, some of them carrying assault rifles.

This came at a time when Dela Rosa, the main official responsible for implementing the bloody “war on drugs” during the era of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, said on Facebook that his arrest was imminent, and called on people to take action to prevent his extradition to the International Criminal Court.

Rosa, who has taken refuge in his legislative office since last Monday, also called on the public to come out and obstruct his arrest, saying that members of the law enforcement forces are on the way, after the International Criminal Court revealed an arrest warrant against him.

The arrest warrant, dated last November and announced on Monday, seeks to arrest the former police chief on charges of committing crimes against humanity, the same crimes of which 81-year-old Duterte is accused, who is awaiting trial in The Hague following his arrest last year.

Dela Rosa was Duterte’s top aide, overseeing a violent crackdown during which thousands of suspected drug traffickers were killed, while human rights organizations accused the police of carrying out systematic killings and covering them up.