Newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday directed the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms to take into Senate custody the National Bureau of Investigation agents who were caught on CCTV chasing Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa inside the Senate premises, declaring them in contempt of the chamber.
CCTV footage showed NBI agents pursuing Dela Rosa and his staff in an attempt to apprehend the senator, triggering the confrontation that led to the contempt order. Dela Rosa reached the plenary floor visibly shaken and bleeding from his hand, telling colleagues he had physically wrestled with agents to get inside. He subsequently asked Cayetano to order the NBI and Trillanes to leave the Senate.
The incident unfolded on one of the most turbulent days the Senate has seen in recent memory. Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV appeared at the Senate minutes after Cayetano replaced Vicente Sotto III as Senate President, accompanied by NBI officials claiming to carry an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Dela Rosa. The Senate was placed under a full lockdown in response, with no one — including the NBI agents and Trillanes — permitted to enter or leave the compound.
Cayetano, in his capacity as the chamber’s new presiding officer, framed the agents’ actions as a violation of Senate protocols and institutional prerogatives. By tradition, law enforcement agencies are required to coordinate with the Office of the Senate President before attempting any arrest on Senate grounds, and are expected to present a warrant beforehand. The sergeant-at-arms had reported to Cayetano that the NBI was claiming to be there to arrest Dela Rosa but had not presented an arrest warrant, and that no prior coordination had been made with Senate leadership.
The legitimacy of the warrant itself remained disputed. As recently as Saturday, May 9, ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet told reporters, “No public arrest warrants have been issued,” adding, “We cannot speculate on these matters or on any confidential information.” Trillanes, however, maintained that the warrant they carried was valid.
Dela Rosa’s return to the Senate after six months of absence was decisive in the leadership vote: at least 13 senators backed Cayetano’s election as Senate President, with Dela Rosa counted among them. The detained NBI agents remained under Senate custody as of Monday afternoon, with no timeline announced for the lockdown’s lifting.
