Eyewitnesses who spoke to Reuters reported that people in the building were warned to find shelter after the repeated shots were fired.
It is not yet clear what exactly happened at the scene or who fired the shots. Reuters reporters had reported earlier that more than 10 military personnel wearing camouflage and armed with infantry rifles arrived at the Senate building.
While the reason for the soldiers being there is not known for certain, it is not yet known whether there are other security units in the building.
CALL FROM DELA ROSA “TO TAKE THE PEOPLE INTO THE STREET”
The events took place after the country’s former president Rodrigo Duterte announced on Facebook that it was only a matter of time before Senator Ronald dela Rosa, the chief implementer of the bloody war he waged against drug gangs, would be detained.
Dela Rosa called on the public to mobilize to prevent his handover to the ICC.
ACCUSES AGAINST HUMANITY
The arrest warrant, issued in November and made public on May 11, accuses the former police chief of “committing crimes against humanity.” The same charges apply to 81-year-old former president Duterte, who was arrested last year and is currently awaiting trial in The Hague.
“I beg you, I hope you can help me. Do not allow another Filipino to be taken to The Hague,” 64-year-old Dela Rosa said in the video he shared from his Senate office.
Dela Rosa was Duterte’s most senior aide who oversaw his heavy-handed crackdown in which thousands of suspected drug dealers were killed.
While human rights groups accuse the police of systematic murders and cover-ups, the police reject these attacks and argue that more than 6 thousand people were killed in operations were armed and resisted.
