Gunshots fired in standoff at Philippine Senate amid push to arrest top politician

Gunshots broke out at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people ran for cover after a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court said his arrest was imminent and security forces entered the building.

MANILA — Gunshots broke out at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday and people ran for cover after a top politician wanted by the International Criminal Court said his arrest was imminent and security forces entered the building.

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There were no immediate reports of casualties, Senate Secretary ⁠Mark Llandro Mendoza told reporters following the chaos at the legislature in the capital Manila.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief who was the main enforcer of ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs”, had earlier urged people to mobilise to prevent his arrest and handover to the ICC.