A sitting Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war took refuge inside the Senate on Monday to avoid arrest by government agents.
Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, the country's one-time police chief, was under the Senate's protection "in accordance with our rules and Philippine laws", newly elected Senate President and Duterte ally Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.
"We will allow an arrest under the condition that it is a Philippine court," he added.
The Senate was on "lockdown", officers told AFP journalists who saw barbed wire and riot police surrounding the compound's closed gates.
Only hours earlier, Dela Rosa -- not seen publicly since November -- had appeared at the Senate to cast a vote for Cayetano, a move that came just as members of the House of Representatives were impeaching Vice President Sara Duterte.
Video released by the Senate showed Dela Rosa being chased through the halls of the upper chamber, pursued by members of the National Bureau of Investigation.
Former senator Antonio Trillanes met with journalists shortly thereafter, holding a copy of the ICC warrant.
The ICC confirmed separately that the warrant had been confidentially issued last November and kept under seal. It was made public late Monday.
Dela Rosa, meanwhile, took to Facebook to plead for support.
"They want to fly me to The Hague, to be surrendered there. So please support me," Dela Rosa said on a livestream hosted by fellow Duterte loyalist Senator Robin Padilla.
"I became Philippine National Police chief to work, then this is what they will do to me?"
'Co-perpetrators'
In February, Dela Rosa, fellow Senator Christopher Go and six others were identified as "co-perpetrators" in former president Duterte's crimes against humanity trial in documents released by prosecutors.
"Duterte and his co-perpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to 'neutralise' alleged criminals in the Philippines (including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production) through violent crimes including murder," the prosecution document reads.
ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018 as part of his "war on drugs".
Dela Rosa had previously said he believed he faced potential arrest and effectively disappeared from public view after attending a Senate session in November.
Monday's unexpected change in Senate leadership, meanwhile, could play a significant role in determining the vice president's political future.
Cayetano, who served as foreign secretary under former president Duterte, denied there was any connection between the House impeachment vote and his move to claim the Senate presidency.
Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment vote triggers a trial in the Senate, where a guilty verdict would see Sara Duterte removed from the vice presidency and banned from elected office for life.
