The meeting became majority-exclusive. Tulfo and his colleagues interpreted the signal and departed.
On the evening of May 13, gunshots shattered the quiet of the Philippine Senate chamber — yet the minority lawmakers were already home, having departed after Senate President Cayetano quietly transformed a planned all-member caucus into a majority-only affair. What might appear as a fortunate absence was in fact a mundane response to a changed agenda, a reminder that the rhythms of institutional life can separate people from danger by the slimmest of margins. The shots themselves remain unexplained, arriving amid the unresolved tensions of a chamber still reorganizing after a dramatic leadership coup and the looming shadow of an international arrest warrant hanging over one of its own.
- Gunshots rang out inside the Senate chamber past 7 p.m. on May 13, locking majority senators inside while the source of the violence remained unknown.
- The minority's absence was no accident — Senate President Cayetano had quietly shifted a planned full-chamber caucus to majority-only, prompting opposition senators and staff to simply go home.
- The majority caucus itself was already a product of crisis, convened to sort out committee vacancies left by Monday's coup-like maneuver that installed Cayetano and stripped all chairs of their positions.
- Sen. Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa sat at the center of the underlying tension, having returned to the Senate after six months evading an ICC warrant, with the Supreme Court declining that morning to halt his potential arrest.
- President Marcos moved swiftly to distance the government from the shots, stating no NBI or government forces had fired, ordering them to stand down, and announcing an investigation into who was responsible.
The minority senators were already gone when the shots rang out. Sen. Erwin Tulfo explained the sequence the following morning: Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano had reversed the day's plans, turning what was meant to be a full-chamber caucus into a majority-only meeting. Tulfo and his colleagues read the signal and left after the regular session. He was home having dinner with his family when the gunfire began past 7 p.m. Sen. Risa Hontiveros confirmed the same — she had a provincial flight scheduled and had departed with her staff. She later asked the public not to politicize the fact that Senate employees had simply finished their workday.
The majority caucus that proceeded without them had a clear purpose: resolving the committee assignments left in disarray by Monday's dramatic events, when a coup-like maneuver had installed Cayetano as Senate president and vacated every committee chair. The meeting was meant to restore the chamber's working structure.
Underneath it all was the presence of Sen. Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa, who had returned to the Senate after six months spent evading an International Criminal Court warrant tied to his role in the Duterte administration's drug war. That morning, the Supreme Court had declined to immediately block his arrest, leaving him technically exposed even while seated under Senate protective custody. The lockdown during the gunfire trapped majority senators inside as the source of the shots remained unknown.
President Marcos addressed the nation quickly, stating that neither the NBI nor any government forces had fired the shots, and that he had ordered the NBI to vacate the Senate and stand down. There was no arrest order for dela Rosa that evening, he said — and he announced an investigation into who had pulled the trigger.
The Senate erupted in gunfire on the evening of May 13, but the minority lawmakers were already gone. Sen. Erwin Tulfo explained the sequence of events that left only majority senators locked inside the chamber when shots rang out past 7 p.m.: Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano had reversed course on the day's plans, transforming what was supposed to be an all-member caucus into a gathering for majority senators only.
Tulfo recounted the shift in an interview the following morning. Cayetano had told senators earlier Wednesday that the caucus would include the full chamber. By afternoon, that changed. The meeting became majority-exclusive. Tulfo and his minority colleagues interpreted the signal and departed. He was home eating dinner with his family when the gunshots began. Sen. Risa Hontiveros corroborated the account, noting that minority senators and their staff had left the building after the regular session concluded. She herself had a flight scheduled to a province for a conference.
The majority caucus that proceeded without them had a specific purpose: resolving committee assignments. This was unfinished business from Monday's dramatic events, when a coup-like maneuver had installed Cayetano as Senate president and stripped all committee chairs of their positions. The meeting was meant to sort out those vacancies and restore the chamber's operational structure.
The gunfire itself remained unexplained in the immediate aftermath. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. moved quickly to clarify what had not happened: the National Bureau of Investigation had not fired the shots, and no government forces were responsible. He released a video address stating he had ordered the NBI to vacate the Senate and stand down. There was no arrest order for Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa that evening, the president said, though he announced he was launching an investigation into who had fired the shots.
Dela Rosa's presence in the chamber was itself the underlying tension. He had returned to the Senate on Monday after a six-month absence spent evading an International Criminal Court warrant related to his role in the Duterte administration's drug war. The Supreme Court had declined that morning to immediately halt his arrest, leaving him technically vulnerable even as he sat in the chamber under Senate protective custody. The lockdown during the gunfire kept majority senators trapped inside while the source of the shots remained unknown.
Hontiveros made a point of defending the staff who had gone home, asking the public not to politicize the fact that Senate employees were simply finishing their workday. The minority's departure was not a boycott or a dramatic exit—it was a practical response to a changed agenda. But the timing meant that when violence erupted inside the chamber, it was only the majority present to experience it.
Notable Quotes
The caucus was supposed to include everyone, but by afternoon it became majority-only, so I left too.— Sen. Erwin Tulfo
Minority senators and their staff had gone home after the session; please don't politicize that Senate employees were doing an honest day's work.— Sen. Risa Hontiveros
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Cayetano change the caucus format at the last minute? What was he trying to accomplish?
The shift suggests he wanted to move forward on committee assignments without obstruction. With only majority senators present, there's no minority voice to challenge the decisions or slow things down. It's a power consolidation move.
But wouldn't that make the minority suspicious? Wouldn't they see it coming?
They did see it. That's why they left. Tulfo and Hontiveros both understood the signal—when the format changed, they knew they weren't wanted in the room. It was a quiet way of excluding them without formally saying so.
So the gunfire happened in a room full of people who had just been locked in by a controversial power shift. That seems significant.
Exactly. The majority was trapped inside during the shooting, which means they experienced it directly. The minority was safely home. It raises questions about whether the gunfire was connected to the political crisis or something separate entirely.
What about dela Rosa? Is he still in danger?
That's the open question. The Supreme Court didn't stop his arrest, but the president said there was no arrest order that night. He's in a precarious position—technically wanted by the ICC, physically present in the Senate, protected by the institution but vulnerable to the law. The gunfire and the lockdown only deepened the uncertainty.
And nobody knows who fired the shots?
Not yet. The president ordered an investigation, but in those first hours, it was chaos. The NBI was ordered out, government forces were told to stand down, and then gunshots. The investigation will have to untangle what happened and why.