Hours after gunshots erupted inside the Senate complex and plunged the Philippine legislature into one of its worst crises in memory, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed Thursday morning that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had slipped out of the building — and delivered a message from the embattled senator’s wife urging allied lawmakers to hold the line.
Cayetano disclosed that it was Sen. Jinggoy Estrada who first raised the alarm at around 1:27 p.m., texting him to say he did not believe Dela Rosa was still inside the building. The Senate president then directed his chief of staff to seek a formal accounting from the Sergeant-at-Arms.
“Kinonfirm ng Sergeant-at-Arms na he’s no longer in the building,” Cayetano told reporters.
Dela Rosa reportedly left the Senate compound at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, hours after a tense standoff during which gunshots were heard inside the building as authorities attempted to close in on the senator, who has been wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity tied to the Duterte administration’s drug war.
A message from Dela Rosa’s wife
Cayetano revealed that Dela Rosa’s wife had sent him a text message addressed to the 13-member Senate majority, asking them not to let her husband’s sacrifice go to waste. “Sana huwag sayangin ‘yung sakripisyo na ginawa ni Sen. Bato,” the message read, according to Cayetano. “She hopes that we stick together.”
Cayetano read aloud portions of the message, in which Dela Rosa’s wife explained the reasoning behind her husband’s departure. “I’d like to ask for forgiveness for all the confusion and havoc it has created in the Senate,” Cayetano quoted her as saying. According to her, Dela Rosa himself had reasoned: “Habang tumatagal kasi diyan sa loob, mas nadadamay pa kayo. Alam naming hindi lulusubin ng NBI, CIDG, pulis, militar ang Senate kung wala siya sa loob. Mas nangibabaw para sa kaniya ang safety ng lahat.”
27 shots inside, five from outside
On the shooting incident itself, Cayetano said the count he received from official reports placed the exchange at 27 shots from within the Senate compound and five from the opposing side. He said the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms issued verbal warnings before the situation escalated.
“Nag-verbal warning ‘yung OSAA, hindi tumigil ‘yung kabilang side from trying to get in the Senate, so nagpaputok sila in the air, nagpaputok pabalik,” he said.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla separately confirmed that the first shots came from OSAA personnel at approximately 7:46 p.m., after armed men attempted to force entry through the second floor. It was later reported that it was Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca who fired the initial warning shot.
NBI denials and Cayetano’s conditions
Cayetano said the National Bureau of Investigation repeatedly told him throughout the standoff that it had not deployed agents to the Senate. NBI Director Melvin Matibag confirmed that the bureau was not present, saying he had an agreement with Cayetano that NBI personnel would not enter the building and that no arrest would be effected without coordination among agencies.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also released a video statement saying government forces were not responsible for the gunfire, and that he had ordered NBI agents to leave the Senate around 4 p.m., several hours before the shooting.
Cayetano pressed the agency to be forthcoming. “If the NBI is going to treat this thing with candor, tell us the truth, may problema tayo,” he said, adding that he maintained trust in both the Philippine National Police and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, whose officials, he said, gave him their word.
“The Senate was under attack”
When a reporter raised questions that appeared to challenge the characterization of events as an attack, Cayetano reacted sharply. “The Senate was under attack! All of you, your lives were in danger last night!” he said. “I know it’s your job to ask a question, but you will tell me, ‘pag may nagpaputok ng warning shot, hindi under attack ‘yon? My God! We’re a democracy. This is the Senate of the Philippines.”
He also called Monday’s earlier events unprecedented — the attempted pursuit of a sitting senator by law enforcement agents within the legislative compound. “Unprecedented ‘yung Monday na mayroong law enforcement officers na makikipaghabuan sa isang senador,” he said. “That never happened in the Philippines.”
Background and fallout
The Senate had placed Dela Rosa under protective custody following a leadership shake-up that saw Cayetano installed as Senate president. Dela Rosa, who had been in hiding for seven months, resurfaced on Monday, May 11, alongside allied senators who formed a new slim majority behind Cayetano.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday had deferred a temporary restraining order on Dela Rosa’s arrest or transfer, instead directing government officials to comment on his petition.
The opposition bloc Akbayan condemned the events, calling Cayetano’s leadership “reckless, chaotic, and disgraceful” and accusing the Senate of being turned into a refuge for someone evading accountability. Akbayan president Rafaela David also raised concerns that the shooting incident may have been staged to mask an escape attempt or pressure the Supreme Court.
The NBI separately said it was looking into the possibility that the gunfire was orchestrated to facilitate Dela Rosa’s exit.
As of midday Thursday, the Bureau of Immigration said it had no recent records of Dela Rosa leaving the country. His whereabouts remain unknown.
