From arrest to 'constitutional crisis': How Senate events were turned into siege narratives
MANILA, Philippines — Pro-Duterte Facebook pages and YouTube channels used real events and legal developments to cast the Senate as a chamber under siege and to defend Sen. Bato dela Rosa from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
A Philstar.com review of 14 Facebook posts and 12 YouTube videos from six channels, published between May 11 and May 29, found that accounts with content favorable to former President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies rarely fabricated events outright. Instead, they took real developments — including a Supreme Court ruling to a security lockdown at the Senate complex — and spun them to support claims of political persecution against Duterte’s allies.
These narratives spread through similarly worded Facebook posts, livestreams and YouTube commentary videos. Many reused statements from politicians, news reports and public officials, then added hyperpartisan political interpretations of their own.
Three narratives stood out during Philstar.com’s monitoring period:
- That Dela Rosa could not be arrested without a Philippine court-issued warrant;
- That the Senate itself was under attack; and
- That the chamber had become the country’s "last line of defense" against threats to democracy.
How the narratives spread
Philstar.com monitored content published after Dela Rosa resurfaced on May 11 and continued through the events before, during and after the May 13 lockdown of the Senate complex.
The review found that online creators often followed a similar pattern.
First, they used an actual news event or statement from a public official. These included remarks from senators, developments involving the ICC warrant, Senate security incidents and statements from Dela Rosa’s legal team.
The second step was changing the interpretation of those events.
Legal disputes over jurisdiction and arrest procedures were reframed as attacks on Philippine sovereignty. Security measures at the Senate were presented as evidence that the institution itself was under threat. Statements about legislative independence were expanded into claims that the Senate was the final institution protecting Duterte allies from political persecution.
The final step was repetition. Similar messages appeared across multiple pages and channels, often within hours or days of major developments.
Rather than producing original reporting, many of the videos and posts relied on clips from mainstream news coverage, political speeches, and press conferences before adding commentary that pushed a specific political interpretation.
Narrative 1: 'A local court warrant is needed'
One of the earliest narratives centered on the claim that Philippine authorities could not arrest Dela Rosa unless a local court first issued a warrant.
The message emerged from statements made by then-Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano between May 11 and May 13, as discussions intensified over the ICC warrant and the government’s possible actions.
The claim was later repeated by several pro-Duterte Facebook pages and YouTube channels.
Philstar.com identified 12 Facebook posts advancing this theme, including posts from KaChizmaze, Booc TVs (later renamed Onlayao TVs), and Lenny Quirz.
KaChizmaze, which had around 13,000 followers, and Booc TVs, which had around 12,000 followers, published similar posts featuring an image of Dela Rosa saluting.
Both posts claimed that Philippine sovereignty and constitutional protections prevented foreign authorities from arresting or surrendering a Filipino citizen without domestic legal action.
The posts stated:
“We bow to NO foreign master. Our Constitution comes FIRST, ALWAYS. This is the triumph of our laws and our freedom!”
The posts were published on May 29, nine days after the Supreme Court denied Dela Rosa's request for a temporary restraining order seeking to stop government cooperation with the ICC.
Lenny Quirz, meanwhile, posted on May 13 claiming that the Supreme Court had released an "explosive filing" on the ICC warrant, even though the court had issued no such ruling.
The Presidential Communications Office later flagged several pages involved in spreading claims related to the ICC proceedings.
The same argument was also repeated by pro-Duterte influencers with larger following.
Sass Rogando Sasot, who has more than 734,000 followers, published eight Facebook posts between May 11 and May 14 arguing that ICC-related action required local judicial intervention.
The posts generated 108,100 reactions, 4,031 comments, and 6,326 shares.
Across those posts, Philstar.com identified 222 comments that repeated keywords linked to the narrative, including "local courts," "warrant," "warrant of arrest," "kidnapping," "no jurisdiction" and "sovereignty."
One of the most reacted comments argued that the ICC process should pass through local courts before any arrest could happen.
On YouTube, Philstar.com reviewed three videos discussing the warrant. Together, they generated 449,000 views.
The highest-performing video came from Banat By, which uploaded “BREAKING NEWS!!! Sen Bato at Sen Jinggoy PATAY NA?!?!?” which reached around 284,000 views.
The livestream featured coverage from SMNI, a network associated with detained pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a known Duterte ally. During the stream, a graphic claimed:
“Anytime pwede harangin ng Korte Suprema pag inaresto si Sen. Bato Dela Rosa.”
(“The Supreme Court can step in to block it at any time if Sen. Bato Dela Rosa is arrested.”)
Other channels, including Pambansang Loyal and Coach Oli News PH, used interviews and news clips involving Dela Rosa’s lawyers to question the validity of the warrant.
Narrative 2: 'The Senate is under attack'
After the May 13 shooting incident near the Senate complex, some Duterte allies used the moment to claim that the Senate itself was under threat.
Cayetano described the Senate as being "under attack" while holding a Facebook live session inside his office.
The claim was later repeated by online creators.
YouTube channel Bisdak Pilipinas used battlefield language in its livestream, describing the situation with phrases such as:
“Under attack po ang Senate of the Philippines.” and “Nagkaroon po ng putukan.”
The channel focused heavily on tactical details, including the deployment of Marines, security personnel wearing bulletproof vests and room-to-room searches inside the Senate complex.
By highlighting these details, the livestream presented the incident as a confrontation rather than solely a security response.
Similarly, Banat By described government actions related to Dela Rosa as an attempted abduction, saying:
“Ang purpose nila si Bato kidnapin.”
(“Their purpose was to kidnap Bato.”)
Narrative 3: The Senate as the 'last line of defense'
The third recurring narrative positioned the Senate "last line of defense" protecting democracy and Duterte allies, as Cayetano described at a May 18 press conference.
He said:
“The Senate is a target because we are the last line of defense pagdating sa hindi impartial na impeachment, sa budget, sa Charter change, sa kung merong gustong yumurak sa ating democracy.”
(“The Senate is a target because we are the last line of defense when it comes to an impartial impeachment process, the budget, Charter change, and anyone who wants to trample on our democracy.”)
A day later, Banat By uploaded a YouTube video using Cayetano's remarks as its central frame.
The video described the Senate as the "huling pag-asa," or last hope, of the country.
As of July 22, 2026, the video had reached approximately 174,000 views and 11,000 likes.
Banat By echoed Cayetano’s message:
“The Senate is the last line of defense sa konstitusyon o sa ating bayan... Kayo ang huli naming pag-asa sa bayan na ‘to.”
(“The Senate is the last line of defense for the Constitution and our country. You are our last hope for this nation.”)
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Disclosure: This story is supported by the Indo-Pacific Media Resilience Program, an Internews initiative designed to contribute to the overall goal of strengthening the capacity of media outlets and journalists in the region.
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