A fire broke out in the Philippine Senate building, filling the main session hall with smoke and causing water to leak from the ceiling.

Footage shows the chamber filled with haze while water dripped onto furniture as an employee inspected the room in Manila on November 30.

Staff said they did not hear a fire alarm and only noticed the thick smoke coming from the hall where a committee of senators investigated irregularities in government projects.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III later said that no critical documents were damaged in the blaze which was immediately put under control.

He said: 'Rest assured that all pertinent Senate documents including those of the Blue Ribbon Committee remain intact, safe, and completely unaffected by the fire.'