[Inside the Newsroom] Bato dela Rosa: Now we see him, now we don’t

Bato dela Rosa came to the Senate after months of hiding. Then chaos erupted. 

In my three years at Rappler, I’ve witnessed firsthand three leadership shake-ups in Congress.

I’m Patrick Cruz. I’m not a Congress reporter; I cover public finance, infrastructure, and transportation.

Yet somehow, whenever Congress spirals into crisis, I end up there.

Nothing, however, matches the Senate coup on Monday, May 11.

On September 8, 2025, I saw Chiz Escudero lose the Senate presidency to Tito Sotto, days after I wrote a report showing that Escudero’s top campaign donor was a major flood control contractor. I was there covering a flood control probe. 

Weeks later, I was at the House for a DPWH budget hearing. There, I saw Speaker Martin Romualdez — the President’s cousin — step down amid corruption issues tied to the national budget. 

But last Monday was different. It was pure chaos. Short-staffed, I was assigned to stake out the Senate in case Dela Rosa appeared for a coup.

Session had barely begun when there was a move to declare the Senate presidency vacant. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano claimed he had the numbers.

Then Bato arrived.

Before reaching the plenary, Dela Rosa — the former police chief who led Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war — had to evade National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents inside the Senate who were trying to serve an International Criminal Court warrant.

He emerged from the parking lot. He rushed to the fire exit stairs.

He stumbled. He recovered. Then he kept running until he reached the plenary.

Dela Rosa fumed, claiming the Senate sergeant-at-arms allowed the NBI to try to stop him from voting in the Senate.

Soon after, Cayetano was elected Senate president, a major shift as Vice President Sara Duterte — an ally of those behind the coup — faces a looming impeachment trial.

Then came the lockdown. Gates were shut. Security tightened to keep NBI agents from pursuing Dela Rosa inside.

Under Cayetano’s new leadership, the Senate cited the agents in contempt. They were later allowed to leave but remained under investigation.

Outside, protesters gathered as Dela Rosa’s supporters questioned the NBI’s attempt to arrest him.

We got home past midnight on Tuesday, May 12. That night was only the beginning of the chaos in the halls of the Senate.

We were kind of expecting things to escalate. We’re in the news business, we’re always on our toes — always ready to run. 

Hi! I am Jairo Bolledo, and I report about anything court- or legal-related for Rappler.

I covered the Senate premises on May 11 after a long day of documenting the historic second impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives. 

The day after, May 12, was not full of action, but still tiring. We had to make sure Dela Rosa was still at the Senate, honoring his promise to wait for a Supreme Court (SC) resolution on his temporary restraining order request. 

I thought May 13 would be the same as the day before. But before 5 pm, I received a tip that the SC might release a resolution. However it went, I knew something would happen, so I stayed even if I was supposed to clock out at 5. 

I was right. The SC did not give immediate relief to Bato. I broke the story and joined Patrick to monitor the movements at the Senate building.

We were told at 7:06 pm that the building would go on lockdown. We stayed. When reporters saw Dela Rosa riding the elevator, we chased after but failed to catch him.  

At 7:25 pm, uniformed personnel with long firearms entered the building. At 7:44 pm, they cocked their guns. 

At 7:45, they marched toward the Senate wing near the GSIS building. We were behind them. We were blocked from getting near the wing, and after a few minutes, shots were fired. 

One shot. Then another two followed. Journalists and Senate staff were scrambling around to take cover. Six more shots rang out as we ran for our lives. 

At a brief moment, we stayed inside the press office, but we were immediately told to evacuate. I was the first reporter to exit the building. Afterwards, I checked on my colleagues, Patrick, Franz Lopez, and Randall Rosales. We were all safe. 

Patrick and I continued reporting from outside the Senate building. Every movement, every official who arrived – we documented everything. 

We were scared, yes, but we had a job to do. While ensuring our safety, our primal instinct was to document everything that happened even if we were in the middle of a Senate shooting. That’s our job as journalists. 

The courage of journalists to bring news even in the worst of times is what makes journalism noble and irreplaceable. I hope May 13, 2026, will be enough of a reminder of why the Philippine media should and still matter. – Rappler.com

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