Gunfire, farce and fugitive Philippine Senator Bato dela Rosa

The Philippine Senate has witnessed political coups, scandals and the occasional shouting match.

It had never, until this week, seen a sitting senator sprint down its corridors in a muddy olive shirt, knocking aside female investigators like bowling pins, to avoid an international arrest warrant for crimes against humanity.

“I worked in the Senate for 15 years and I have never seen anything like this,” said Dr Jean Franco, a political-science professor at the University of the Philippines. She was not alone in that assessment.