Wanted politician on the run after shooting

TT

Published 11.32

 

Security personnel on site inside the Philippine Senate building after the shooting on Wednesday. Photo: Gerard Carreon/AP/TT

The wanted parliamentarian and former police chief Ronald dela Rosa had been hiding in the parliament building in Manila.

After a commotion and shooting, he is now reported to have fled.

– He is no longer in the building, says Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano at a press conference in the Philippine capital on Thursday.

Dela Rosa is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, suspected of having ordered the killing of thousands from 2016-2018 within the framework of former President Rodrigo Duterte's so-called "war on drugs".

Duterte himself is accused of crimes against humanity by the ICC and is in custody.

When dela Rosa appeared in parliament on Monday, he had been out of the public eye for months. He was chased by police and on Wednesday, gunfire broke out in the building. The circumstances are unclear, but the military is said to have tried to arrest him.