Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed on Thursday that Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who was placed under the custody of the Upper House as he had an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) last Monday, left the Senate premises.

In the second of two press conferences, Cayetano read the message of Dela Rosa's wife confirming that the senator already left the Senate. Dela Rosa is accused by the ICC for allegedly committing crimes against humanity during his stint as head of the Davao police.

He did not say what time Dela Rosa left but earlier Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro said she received a report as of 11:09am Thursday, Dela Rosa was no longer in the Senate premises. She said they were trying to confirm this.

Dela Rosa reappeared at the Senate on Monday after being absent since November. His arrival sparked a ruckus when National Bureau of Investigation agents tried to serve the ICC arrest warrant. Dela Rosa eluded them and fled to the plenary. Cayetano said the Senate assumed protective custody until a warrant from a local court is secured.

"He (Dela Rosa) did not escape during, after, but his wife said after he saw that someone will go so far as to attack the Senate just to get him that is why he left... The term escape is incorrect because there is no warrant so he his free to go," Cayetano said.

"They (NBI) did not present the warrant to us, and I am waiting for it. They did not give us, if they gave me the warrant, my advice would have been different," he added.

Cayetano also denied the allegation that the shooting incident, which took place on Wednesday, was just a diversionary tactic of the Senate, noting that leaving the Senate premises was a personal decision of Dela Rosa.

No one was injured in the shooting.

"He made that decision on his own, I found out when Senator Jinggoy (Estrada) called me, I had no idea last night because he even came to see Sec. Jonvic," he added, referring to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla who arrived in the Senate on Wednesday night.

During his meeting with Remulla, Cayetano noted that they agreed for a joint independent investigation on the incident.

Quoting a text message from Remulla, Cayetano said based on initial investigation a total of 32 bullets were fired by both sides.

"Here is the text (message) from Sec. Jonvic, the count was 27 from inside the Senate and five from the other side," he said.

"My point is, the Office of the sergeant-at-arms (OSAA) delivered a verbal warning but the other side did not stop from trying to get into the Senate so they fired a warning shot but the problem is they returned fire," he added.

However, in a Palace press briefing, Castro explained that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deployed their agents at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) property which is near the encounter site, due to the request for security of its general manager Wick Veloso.

"The Senate is occupying some parts of the GSIS property. The office of the GSIS and the office of the Senate is linked by a bridge. The key to open the door from the Senate going to the bridge that is connected to the GSIS is with the OSAA or the Senate," she said.

Cayetano said a suspect involved in the shooting incident in the Senate was arrested by the police on the same night.

The suspect identified by the Southern Police District (SPD) as alias "Mel Oragon" was reportedly a driver of the NBI. Robina Asido/PHS