Originally published at The Crux
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MANILA, Philippines – Bishops in the Philippines condemned violence and called for sobriety after a shooting incident rocked the Senate and heightened political tensions in the country.
The May 13 shooting incident erupted while Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a key ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, took refuge in the Senate building to evade arrest. Dela Rosa, 64, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity in Duterte’s war on drugs.
The shooting happened hours after Dela Rosa warned he was about to be arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other law enforcers. The Senate sergeant-at-arms fired at least 27 gunshots while the NBI fired five. The incident injured no one, and critics alleged it was staged to gain sympathy for Duterte allies at the Senate.
It triggered panic, however, within the Senate building and in a country facing its worst political crisis in years.
The incident came two days after the 318-member House of Representatives impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. This meant that the House was sending her for an impeachment trial at the 24-member Senate — a months-long process that could remove her from public office and prohibit her
