Malacañang on Monday dismissed assertions that the Senate came under attack during last week’s tense standoff, maintaining that the upper chamber remained secure and that law enforcement personnel adhered to institutional protocols throughout the incident.
The Palace response follows a high-stakes security confrontation near the Senate–GSIS perimeter, which erupted during an attempt to serve an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa concerning his involvement in the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro pushed back against early narratives characterizing the event as an assault on the legislative branch.
“Senate siege? Was it under attack? It was not,” Castro said. “It was only the statement made by Senator Allan Cayetano. As far as the government is concerned, the Senate was never under attack.”
The statement directly counters early descriptions from some lawmakers who labeled the situation a “siege” or “attack” while sheltering inside the chamber during a brief internal lockdown.
According to separate accounts from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), the incident stemmed from a volatile confrontation near a restricted access point connecting the Senate building to the adjacent GSIS compound. Warning shots were reportedly exchanged between Senate security personnel and responding external agents.
Castro clarified that the NBI agents involved in the operation acted within coordinated security frameworks and did not violate Senate authority. Instead, she questioned the upper chamber’s intervention in a lawful law enforcement operation.
“The question is, was the Senate correct in interfering with the service of the warrant of arrest?” Castro said, emphasizing the executive branch’s position that institutional respect must be a mutual obligation.
While Senate officials initially stated that heightened security measures were triggered by intelligence warnings of an imminent threat, Malacañang urged the public and lawmakers alike to exercise restraint.
Castro concluded that Malacañang will await the definitive findings of the ongoing investigation, which aims to establish the precise timeline of the gunfire and the level of inter-agency coordination, stressing that public assessments should rely strictly on verified facts rather than unconfirmed early narratives.