Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court flees from Senate

Philippine Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano holds a letter addressed to Lower House Speaker Faustino Dy III, acknowledging the Senate's receipt of the resolution containing the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, during a media briefing at the Senate in Pasay City on May 14, 2026.(AP Photo/Gerard Carreon) 2026-05-14T09:44:39Z MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court for an alleged crime against humanity has fled from the Senate, where he sought refuge to evade arrest, officials said Thursday. Sen. Ronald dela Rosa ’s exit from the heavily guarded Senate came after volleys of gunshots were fired Wednesday night by the building’s security personnel during an argument with a government agent, sparking chaos that apparently helped the senator to slip out. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a late-night TV statement to ask the public to remain calm. A police investigation was underway, including into suspicions that the incident was instigated to provide dela Rosa a cover to escape. “There is no obstruction of justice,” Senate President Alan Cayetano said of dela Rosa’s escape while in the Senate’s protective custody. He told a news briefing that he did not see any ICC warrant of arrest against dela Rosa and the senator was free to leave the premises. Critics, however, said Cayetano and the Senate’s security chief should be held responsible for dela Rosa’s escape. Dela Rosa, 64, served as the former national police chief of Rodrigo Duterte , who was president from 2016 to 2022. Duterte was arrested in March last year on a ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he launched and for which he is now facing a trial in The Hague. A warrant unsealed Monday by the ICC charges dela Rosa with the crime against humanity of murder of “no less than 32 persons” between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, when he led the national police force under Duterte and enforced his bloody crackdowns. (