Shots fired in Philippine senate where senator accused of crimes against humanity was hiding

Gunfire broke out in the Philippine senate where a senator is holed up trying to avoid arrest over claims of crimes against humanity.

Military personnel in camouflage fatigues were seen entering the Senate building and people ran for cover as more than a dozen gunshots were heard on Wednesday.

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, the chief enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, is under protective custody amid an International Criminal Court warrant over the former regime's killing of suspected drug dealers.

Senator Dela Rosa urged supporters to protect him from being handed over to the ICC in The Hague.

There were no reports of any injuries and President Ferdinand Marcos ‌Jr has called for ​calm, insisting his government wasn't involved and no instruction had been given to arrest the senator.

In a video message, Presedant Marcos ‌pledged to "get ⁠to the bottom" of who was responsible.

Interior minister Jonvic Remulla ‌said Mr dela Rosa - known as "Bato" - was safe and had been assured he wouldn't be arrested.

Hundreds of police were stationed outside the building on Wednesday in an effort to keep the peace as some protesters called for his arrest.

As the country's former police chief, Mr dela Rosa was the main enforcer in ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's bloody "war on drugs".

Human rights groups say thousands of people were unlawfully murdered during the campaign, with police accused of regularly gunning down alleged dealers and falsifying evidence.

Mr dela Rosa, 64, denies involvement in illegal killings and appealed for help in a Facebook video filmed from his senate office.

"I am appealing to you, I hope you can help me. Do not allow another ​Filipino to be brought to The Hague," he pleaded.

He first sought "protective custody" in the senate on Monday after not being seen in public since the warrant was first issued in November.

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The ICC warrant, unsealed at the start of this week, accuses Mr dela Rosa of the murder of "no less than 32 persons" between 2016 and 2018.

The crimes against humanity claim is the same one levelled against Mr Duterte who's awaiting trial after being transferred to the Hague last year.

The former police chief has said he will face any allegations in the Philippine courts but won't go abroad.

"If I have something to answer for, I will face those in our local courts and not before foreigners," he told reporters in the senate.

He has also asked the supreme court to block any attempt to transfer him to the Hague, arguing it would be illegal as President Duterte pulled the country out of the ICC in 2018 when it began investigating him.

(c) Sky News 2026: Shots fired in Philippine senate where senator accused of crimes against humanity was hiding