Philippine Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa slipped out of the Senate building before dawn on May 14, hours after gunfire erupted inside the compound in what critics allege was a staged diversion to cover his escape from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
Multiple Senate sources confirmed dela Rosa left the premises at around 2:30 a.m., ending a three-night standoff during which he sheltered at the Senate under “protective custody” declared by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano. Senate sources and Malacañang confirmed his departure. His lawyer, Jimmy Bondoc, told reporters Thursday morning his client was still inside — a claim directly contradicted by those accounts.
The timing of the pre-dawn exit, immediately following the gunfire, drew immediate accusations of coordination. Akbayan party president Rafaela David said the shooting may have been “deliberately staged to manufacture chaos, potentially to mask an attempt by Dela Rosa to escape and/or to pressure the Supreme Court into issuing a Temporary Restraining Order in his favor.” Dela Rosa’s legal counsel dismissed the allegation.
Read: Philippine Senate on lockdown after shots fired amid ICC warrant on senator
The Palace provided the clearest account of the shooting on Thursday. Press Officer Claire Castro said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca fired the first warning shot after spotting NBI agents near the GSIS side of the compound, and that an NBI agent returned fire in response.
Castro emphasized the NBI “made no assault.” The NBI had previously denied its agents were armed or enforcing any warrants that night. Marcos separately released a video statement saying government forces were not behind the shooting. No arrests were made.
The Supreme Court, earlier Wednesday, declined to issue a TRO blocking dela Rosa’s possible arrest, giving respondents 72 hours to comment. A ruling is not expected before next week.
The ICC unsealed dela Rosa’s arrest warrant on May 11, charging him as an indirect co-perpetrator in crimes against humanity for his alleged role in at least 32 killings carried out under the Duterte administration’s drug war between 2016 and 2018. Former President Rodrigo Duterte is already detained in The Hague following his ICC arrest last year.
Read: ‘I Am Responsible’: Duterte Acknowledges Drug War Role as ICC Detention Begins
Critics pointed to a coordinated pattern across the week: dela Rosa arrived at the Senate on May 11 in a vehicle linked to Sen. Pia Cayetano, cast the decisive 13th vote in a leadership coup installing Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President, was immediately placed under protective custody by the new Senate President, survived a night of unexplained gunfire, and departed before dawn — whereabouts still unknown as of Thursday morning.
The leadership coup’s timing was no accident. The House of Representatives voted 257-25 on May 10 to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte — Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter and political successor — for the second time in just over a year.
Under the Philippine constitution, the Senate sits as an impeachment court once the House transmits the articles, and the composition of Senate leadership determines how those proceedings unfold. By ousting Senate President Tito Sotto and installing Cayetano, the Duterte-aligned bloc secured control of the chamber days before articles of impeachment formally arrived — delivered to the Senate, notably, in the middle of Wednesday night’s lockdown.
Dela Rosa’s six-month disappearance from public life, followed by his carefully staged return, appears designed primarily to supply the vote that made that shift possible.
Akbayan called Cayetano’s leadership “reckless, chaotic, and disgraceful,” saying the Senate had been turned into a sanctuary for a fugitive. The ICC warrant covers alleged crimes committed between 2016 and 2019, when the Philippines was still a party to the Rome Statute. Manila withdrew from the court in 2019, but the ICC has maintained jurisdiction over events from the membership period.
Information for this story was found via the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
