A DRAMATIC leadership shake-up greeted senators on Monday, May 11, as Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa returned to the Senate after months of absence.
Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano was elected Senate president following the ouster of Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, with 13 affirmative votes, nine negative votes, and two abstentions.
“As I said, I serve at the pleasure of my colleagues. But rest assured, Senate President or not, my allegiance is to the Constitution and my loyalty is to the Filipino people,” Sotto said in reaction to his removal as Senate chief.
Alongside Cayetano’s election, Sen. Loren Legarda assumed the post of Senate president pro tempore, replacing Sen. Panfilo Lacson, as part of the broader reshuffling of key positions in the upper chamber.
The leadership changes coincided with the unexpected return of Dela Rosa, who had been absent from Senate sessions since November 2025.
His reappearance came amid reports of an International Criminal Court (ICC)-issued arrest warrant connected to cases tied to the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign, which was officially released by the ICC later in the day.
Tensions escalated upon his arrival after Dela Rosa alleged that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents attempted to block his entry into the Senate building. He claimed the encounter turned physical, resulting in injuries to his left hand.
“Kung ako’y absent hinahanap ako ninyo… ngayon, nagpapakita ako dito. O? Hinarang ako ng mga NBI! Ni-wrestling ako doon. Sugat-sugat ako,” he said on the Senate floor.
Following the incident, Dela Rosa called for a lockdown of the Senate premises, arguing that state agents were attempting to execute an arrest without presenting a valid warrant.
Video footage shown during the session appeared to capture unidentified individuals pursuing the senator through hallways and emergency exits before he eventually took his seat in the plenary hall.
Following the incident, Cayetano announced the resignation of Senate Sergeant at Arms (Ret.) Maj. Gen. Edgardo Rene Samonte.
Dela Rosa nominated retired Police Major General Mao Aplasca as new Senate sergeant at arms.
Aplasca served as undersecretary in the Office of Transportation Security (OTS), appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022.
The names of the NBI agents have yet to be disclosed.
The Senate later placed Dela Rosa under “protective custody” while ordering contempt proceedings against individuals involved in the confrontation.
The day’s events drew further attention with the presence of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who presented to the media what he claimed was a copy of the ICC arrest warrant for Dela Rosa.
“Ako, personally, nandirito ako kasi hinamon niya (Dela Rosa) ako e… kaya sinamahan ko ‘yong pagaaaresto. Ngayon, we will make sure na ito ay ma-enforce,” Trillanes said.
Trillanes also disputed claims of senators’ immunity from arrest, citing his own experience of being served a warrant while still in office.
“In-issuehan ako ng warrant, binasahan ako ng Miranda rights doon sa lounge… kaya ‘yong mga precedents na sinasabi nila, nangyari sakin ‘yon. Pagka may valid na warrant,” Trillanes said.
In his first major ruling as Senate president, Cayetano defended the chamber’s institutional integrity, stressing that no sitting senator had ever been arrested inside Senate premises during a session.
“In the history of the Philippine Senate, no incumbent senator has ever been arrested within the Senate grounds while the chamber is in session, and as your Senate president, I will not allow that tradition of institutional independence to be broken,” he said.
