Senator Risa Hontiveros has condemned the shooting incident inside the Senate building on the night of May 13 as a “historic low for our country,” calling it a desecration of a democratic institution — and placing the blame squarely on Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s refusal to face the law.
“Unfortunately, the Senate, The People’s House, the hallowed space where laws are made and rights are defended, was turned into a shooting range,” Hontiveros said in a statement. “That is desecration, not just of our walls, but of the trust placed in that institution.”
At around 7:45 p.m. on May 13, reporters heard multiple gunshots fired inside the Senate premises. The lockdown came hours after the Supreme Court declined to issue an immediate temporary restraining order on Dela Rosa’s petition to block the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him. The high court instead ordered government officials to comment within 72 hours, leaving no legal bar on the warrant while the case remained pending.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who arrived at the scene, said no casualties were reported. NBI Director Melvin Matibag, for his part, denied that NBI personnel were responsible for the shots, saying his agents had no firearms with them at the Senate. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also denied government involvement, saying he had already ordered NBI agents to leave the Senate compound before the shooting erupted.
Hontiveros, writing from outside the capital, pushed back against attempts to draw the Senate minority into the controversy. “Ito po ang katotohanan: tapos na ang session, kaya umuwi na ang mga empleyado. Ako, lumipad papuntang probinsya para sa scheduled na conference,” she said, explaining her absence from the premises. “Ang mga colleagues sa Minority, ang aming mga staff, pati ang marami sa aming mga katrabaho ay nag-uwian dahil tapos na ang trabaho.”
She urged political actors to stop weaponizing the ordinary act of senators and staff going home after session. “Wag naman nilang gamitin sa pamumulitika ang pag-uwi ng ating Senate employees, who are doing an honest day’s work,” she said.
The senator was direct in identifying what she called the underlying motive behind the chaos. “There is only one reason some bad faith actors are trying very hard to make this controversial event about me and other Minority senators and the times we went home,” she said. “All this for a man who simply doesn’t want to face the law. That’s it. That’s the whole story.”
Dela Rosa, 64, had been holed up inside the Senate compound since Monday, May 12, after security cameras captured him running through the halls to evade local investigative agents. The ICC confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant against him, citing incidents in which 32 people were killed between 2016 and 2018 during the Duterte administration’s drug war. Dela Rosa had stayed away from the Senate since November 2025 after reports surfaced that the ICC had issued a warrant identifying him as a co-conspirator of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the crimes against humanity case.
Hontiveros also addressed the broader question of institutional ownership. “We, Senators, are mere stewards of the Senate. The Senate belongs to the Filipino people, so no one gets to act like they own the place, much less barricade themselves inside it,” she said.
She called on Dela Rosa to comply peacefully, in both Filipino and English. “Kaya sana, para maiwasan ang panibagong karahasan at tensyon sa loob man o labas ng Senado, mag-submit na at makipagtulungan si Senator Dela Rosa sa mga alagad ng batas ukol sa kanyang warrant,” she urged.
Hontiveros, along with Senators Francis Pangilinan, Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, and Bam Aquino, had earlier filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 395 dated May 12, 2026, urging Dela Rosa to submit himself to the proper authorities and avail himself of legal remedies under the Constitution and existing laws. The resolution cited the cases of former senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Leila de Lima, and Antonio Trillanes IV as precedents for voluntary submission to judicial processes.
Dela Rosa rejected the call to surrender, saying his colleagues were “too much.” He said surrender would only be considered after he had exhausted all available legal options.
Despite the upheaval — which also coincided with the delivery of the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate past 8 p.m. on the same evening — Hontiveros said the chamber’s work would go on.
“We need to get to the bottom of this. The Filipino people deserve a full, independent, and unobstructed accounting. Walang takipan,” she said. “Anuman ang mangyari, magpapatuloy ang trabaho ng Senado. Let’s get our act together.”
