Political Tension in Philippines Escalates After Senate Gunfire

Gunshots were fired at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday evening where a lawmaker wanted by the International Criminal Court has sought refuge. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for calm and denied any government involvement in the incident.

“It was not the government that did this,” Marcos said in a statement broadcast on his Facebook account. “There was no instruction to arrest Senator Bato,” he said, referring to Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, whose nickname Bato means rock in Tagalog and who has been holed up in the Senate complex since Monday.