Manila, Philippines – A dramatic standoff unfolded at the Philippine Senate Wednesday evening, as the legislative complex was placed under full lockdown after Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a high-profile figure wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his role in the country’s deadly war on drugs, took refuge inside the building. Visual footage from the scene shows heavily armed police commandos in combat fatigues entering the Senate compound, while a cordon of anti-riot officers equipped with riot shields and helmets secured the perimeter of the facility.
Multiple rounds of gunfire were recorded within the lockdown area, though authorities have not yet confirmed which party fired the shots, and no casualty reports have been released in the immediate aftermath of the operation. Dela Rosa previously warned that his arrest was imminent, and publicly appealed to Filipino citizens to intervene to stop his detention. As of Thursday morning, his exact location within the Senate remains unconfirmed.
The ICC investigation centers on allegations that Dela Rosa oversaw the extrajudicial killing of dozens of suspected drug offenders during his tenure as national police chief under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Duterte launched a harsh nationwide war on drugs that killed thousands of alleged drug dealers between 2016 and 2022, and the former leader has been in ICC custody at The Hague since March 2025 to face charges related to the crackdown.
Duterte and his allies have repeatedly rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction over the case, arguing that the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute – the ICC’s founding treaty – during Duterte’s presidency in 2019. However, judges on the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber dismissed that legal argument last month, ruling that the alleged crimes under investigation occurred between 2011 and 2019, when the Philippines was still an active member of the court. That ruling cleared the path for Duterte to proceed to trial at The Hague.
Outside the locked-down Senate compound Wednesday, demonstrators gathered to call for Dela Rosa to be taken into custody, demanding that he be extradited to The Hague to stand trial alongside Duterte. Legal representatives for Dela Rosa have already filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the Philippines seeking a court order to block his extradition to the ICC. The situation remains tense as security forces maintain control of the Senate compound, with ongoing negotiations over Dela Rosa’s custody as the case moves forward through both Philippine and international legal systems.