senate encounter | live notes 01 (may 13, 2026)
what unfolded at the Senate tonight centered on the alleged attempt by authorities to serve an ICC-linked warrant on Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, tied to alleged crimes against humanity during the Duterte-era drug war.
Senator Bato is taking refuge inside the Senate premises with allied lawmakers standing in defense—turning what should have been a legal enforcement action into a tense political standoff inside a lock-downed chamber.
reports followed of heightened security inside the complex, including the presence of "armed personnel" and conflicting accounts of what exactly transpired on the ground, adding confusion to an already volatile situation. senators also claimed they were waiting for the articles of impeachment against VP Sara Duterte, which were reportedly expected to arrive at the Senate tonight.
what should have been a straightforward question of accountability instead became a spectacle of institutions colliding—law enforcement, legislative power, and political loyalty all pulling in different directions.
at its core, the entire commotion circles back to an "international fugitive" under an ICC warrant, and the political loyalty surrounding him. loyalty not necessarily to the country or its people, but to a family and its allies.
what stands out now is the sudden invocation of due process by Senator Bato and his bloc, along with calls for the current administration to respect legal procedure and restraint. yet this sits in stark contrast to the lived reality of many extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims, who were denied the very same due process now being demanded.
in essence, the principle being invoked today is the same one that many of these victims were never afforded in the first place.
and it is difficult to ignore the irony in all of it:
elect clowns, expect a circus.
in the end, it is always the Filipino people who bear the cost.
source: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/05/13/2527718/live-developments-senate-dela-rosa-faces-arrest