THE NIGHT GUNFIRE BROKE OUT INSIDE THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES

As of this writing, I do not have the complete picture. What follows is what has been established across multiple major outlets and what remains in dispute. Read it with that caveat.

THE SEQUENCE

At around 4:00 PM on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa announced on Facebook Live that he had been told the National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group would arrive after the Senate session to arrest him. He called on supporters to gather at the Senate.

By late afternoon, security around the Senate building intensified. Riot police and police personnel were deployed in increasing numbers. Reuters journalists counted more than ten Marines in camouflage fatigues, some carrying assault rifles, moving toward the legislative building. Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs chief Xerxes Trinidad later confirmed that the Marines had been requested by the Senate itself to help secure the building.

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca said law enforcement personnel were assembling outside the Senate. The Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms had earlier indicated it was preparing to arrest someone, without providing details.

Inside the Senate, around 7:30 PM, during an active session, the lights went off. Witnesses inside the building reported a series of gunshots. Reuters witnesses counted at least five. Al Jazeera's Jamela Alindogan reported approximately fifteen.

Reporters were instructed to clear the second floor. Senate security staff donned bulletproof vests and rifles. The building went into full lockdown. The steel doors were closed after journalists were evacuated.

WHAT REMULLA SAID HAPPENED

Hours later, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who had been sent by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the scene, gave an on-site account.

A member of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms fired the first shot. Remulla described it as a warning shot. After that warning shot, unidentified armed individuals retreated and fired shots into the air.

Remulla said: "The perpetrators are not identified."

He said an investigation was underway and that surveillance footage would be reviewed. He confirmed there were no injuries.

WHAT MARCOS SAID

President Marcos addressed the nation in a televised statement. He clarified that no government order had been given to arrest Dela Rosa that night. He said no government forces had been involved in the shooting. He said: "What we need to do now is to assure our citizens to remain calm while we investigate this situation. We will uncover who is behind this disturbance."

He raised the question of whether the incident was part of an effort to destabilize.

WHAT THE NBI SAID

NBI Director Melvin Matibag denied that any of his agents fired their weapons. He told ABS-CBN: "We were on a stand down." Speaking to GMA News, Matibag said he had spoken to the Justice Secretary and had been told to wait for further instructions. He said no NBI agents had been deployed to the Senate at the time of the shooting and that no agents were inside the building when the shots were fired.

WHAT BATO'S COUNSEL SAID

Atty. Jimmy Bondoc, counsel for Senator Dela Rosa, contradicted Matibag. He told Daily Tribune that he had seen an "NBI" logo on the vests of the armed men who fired shots inside the building.

CCTV footage has been instructed to be secured. It has not yet been publicly released.

WHAT CAYETANO SAID

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano addressed the building from inside through Facebook Live. He said: "We heard gunshots and we don't know what is happening. Everyone's locked in their rooms now. We cannot go out, we cannot secure our other staff. Why are we under attack here?"

To reporters who briefly saw him, he said the Senate of the Philippines was "allegedly under attack" and that emotions were high.

Cayetano allowed Remulla into the building after the shooting. After speaking with Marcos and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, he relayed that government forces had not fired.

He later confirmed on livestream that "so far everyone is safe," including Dela Rosa, and that Senate authorities would allow people to leave the building once they were confirmed not to be suspects.

WHAT REMULLA TOLD DELA ROSA

Inside the Senate, after the shooting, Remulla gave Senator Dela Rosa a personal assurance. Dela Rosa would not be served with an arrest warrant. He would remain in the building while authorities conducted a security sweep. All senators inside were safe.

WHAT THE PNP SAID

The Philippine National Police raised its alert level to full alert effective 8:30 PM, May 13. An estimated 1,500 police personnel were deployed in and around the Senate to secure the premises. PNP Chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. arrived on site personally. He said the police presence was to secure the building and that verification of the volley of shots was ongoing.

He was asked whether there were casualties. He said the matter would be investigated.

WHAT CARPIO SAID

Former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the Senate cannot be an asylum for fugitives and cannot provide protective custody to its members.

His statement came earlier in the day, before the shooting. It was not a reaction to the gunfire. It was a constitutional position on the protective custody framework that has held Dela Rosa inside the Senate since Monday.

WHAT IS KNOWN

Gunfire was discharged inside the Senate of the Philippines on the evening of May 13, 2026.

The first shot was a warning shot fired by a member of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms. This is on Remulla's account.

After that warning shot, unidentified armed individuals fired multiple shots into the air. The total count ranges from five to fifteen across witness accounts.

No one was injured.

No government forces fired, on Marcos's account, relayed through Cayetano.

No NBI agents fired, on Matibag's account.

The unidentified armed individuals had not been publicly identified as of this writing.

Bato's counsel claims he saw an NBI logo on the vests of the armed men. Matibag denies any NBI personnel were inside the Senate at the time.

CCTV footage exists. It has not been publicly released.

WHAT IS NOT KNOWN

Who the unidentified armed individuals were. What agency, if any, deployed them. Whether they were there with anyone's authorization. Whether they were responding to the Sergeant-at-Arms warning shot, or whether they were the trigger that prompted it. Whether the CCTV will show what Bondoc claims to have seen, or what Matibag claims did not happen.

The Department of Justice has not yet issued an updated position. The Supreme Court 72-hour comment window on Dela Rosa's TRO petition continues to run.

WHERE THE STANDOFF NOW STANDS

The ICC warrant against Dela Rosa is real, confirmed, and unsealed.

The senator remains inside the Senate under protective custody.

The Interior Secretary, sent by the President, has assured him on-scene that no warrant will be served while a security sweep is conducted.

The Supreme Court has neither granted nor denied his TRO petition. It has asked the executive branch to comment within 72 hours.

The Senate's Sergeant-at-Arms has now discharged a firearm inside the legislative building. Other shots were fired by people who, as of this writing, no agency has named.