The President of Philippines called an emergency meeting of top officials on Thursday (May 14, 2026) amid widening political tensions, a day after gunfire rang out at the Senate where a lawmaker wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been holed up fearing his arrest.
Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the former National Police Chief and Chief Enforcer of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs”, is wanted for crimes against humanity, the same charges Mr. Duterte is accused of. Mr. Duterte is set to become the first former Asian Head of State to go on trial at the ICC.
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Gunshots were heard late on Wednesday (May 14, 2026) inside the Senate building and people inside scrambled for cover, hours after Mr. Rosa, better known as “Bato” or “Rock”, appealed on social media for supporters to mobilise, saying law enforcement agents were coming to take him from the legislature, where he had taken refuge.
The incident sparked chaos and confusion, with a heavy presence of police and armed guards at the Senate, protests outside and more than a dozen shots fired just moments after marines were called in to bolster security.
