THE Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday recommended filing charges against suspended Senate sergeant-at-arms Mao Aplasca and two others over the shooting incident at the Senate last week.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II, CIDG director, was firm that Aplasca and two other Senate security personnel had “no basis” to use their firearms under Republic Act 11917 or the Private Security Services Industry Act.
Morico said they would transmit their findings to the Department of Justice (DOJ), which would decide on their recommendations.
In a press briefing at Malacañang Palace on Tuesday, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., PNP chief, presented CCTV footage showing Aplasca and the two other security were the first to fire gun shots on the night of May 13 after seeing National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents at the Government Service Insurance System premises adjacent to the Senate.
Remulla also debunked Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano’s remark that the Senate was under attack.
“For the record, all evidence points [to the fact] that there was no attack on the Senate,” he said.
Remulla also wondered why Mao Aplasca had to gather the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) personnel, as well as Marines and even the police assigned to the Senate in full view of the media and why he did not clear the entire floor if there was indeed an encounter.
Critics have suggested the shooting was just a "diversionary tactic” for Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, to slip out of the Senate to evade arrest.
More OSAA personnel questioned
On Wednesday, more personnel from the OSAA were scheduled to appear before the CIDG as part of the investigation into the shooting incident.
Among those issued subpoenas were OSAA Officer-in-Charge Manuel Parlade, a Senate CCTV operator, and several other OSAA staff members.
Parlade assumed the role of officer-in-charge following the suspension of Aplasca in the aftermath of the shooting incident.
The CIDG had issued subpoenas on Tuesday to former Senate secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza, Aplasca, and other OSAA personnel connected to the case.
CIDG officials confirmed that some of the individuals summoned appeared before investigators on Tuesday but declined to give more details.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) previously disclosed that Aplasca failed to appear before investigators despite being summoned.
Authorities continue to review CCTV footage, witness accounts, and other pieces of evidence to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting inside the Senate premises.
The May 13 incident prompted heightened security measures within the Senate complex and raised concerns regarding internal security protocols at one of the country’s key government institutions.
Sen. Robinhood Padilla defended Aplasca, saying his actions during the shooting incident helped prevent further harm to personnel and civilians inside and outside the building.
In a post on his social media page, Padilla said Aplasca’s decision to fire a warning shot, along with the presence and response of NBI personnel, helped de-escalate tensions.
Padilla said the warning shot allowed both parties involved to recognize that they were “friendly forces,” preventing what could have escalated into a more dangerous confrontation.
“Had there been no warning shot, the situation could have worsened,” Padilla said.
