THE Senate has not received the Office of the Ombudsman’s order to suspend its acting Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca, as well as the subpoena for the recordings and other pertinent information regarding last Wednesday’s standoff, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
In his radio program on Saturday, Remulla said the Senate did not receive the Ombudsman’s process server that carried the order.
“Ayaw nilang tanggapin, hindi ko sila maintindihan (They do not want to receive it; I don’t understand),” Remulla said.
He said that even if the Senate has not received the order, Aplasca’s suspension and the subpoena are considered as “served.”
On Friday, Remulla placed Aplasca on a six-month preventive suspension to prevent him from influencing the investigation of the standoff between agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and members of the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA).
Remulla criticized Aplasca’s actions, stressing that the OSAA is considered the Senate’s “security guard.”
“In the end, his only work is to secure the Senate to make sure that the rules are followed. To (fire) a warning shot at law enforcement, he thinks he is above the law,” Remulla said.
Malacañang said Aplasca was the first to fire a warning shot at the NBI operatives, sowing panic among journalists.
He said Aplasca could face charges of obstruction of justice, failure to maintain public order and safety in the Senate, gross neglect of duty, and aiding or abetting a criminal or a fugitive from justice.
On Saturday, OSAA denied reports on social media that there was no closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the shooting incident at the Senate.
In a statement, the OSAA said the security cameras on the second floor of the Senate building were “fully operational” during the time of the incident on May 13.
“The Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms strongly denies the false and misleading information circulating on social media platforms and being reported by certain news agencies claiming that there was no available CCTV footage covering the 2nd Floor of the Senate Building,” the statement read.
The OSAA said the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP CIDG) Regional Field Unit for the National Capital Region has asked for copies of the CCTV footage on May 14 through a letter signed by Col. John Guiagui.
The Senate security office complied with the request and turned over the footage on the same day through its Integrated Electronics and Technical Section.
“The extraction and turnover of the CCTV recordings were conducted with the participation and technical coordination of authorized PNP personnel,” the OSAA said.
Officials added that acknowledgment receipts and certifications were signed by police personnel confirming the turnover of footage from “DVR 2 CCTV Cam 8” and “DVR 8 CCTV Cams 7 and 8.”
The certifications further stated that the recordings were “authentic, original, unaltered, and directly obtained from the official Senate CCTV system.”
The OSAA said the recordings directly contradict allegations that no footage was made available to investigators.
“The spread and publication of unverified and inaccurate information only serve to mislead the public and unnecessarily undermine the integrity of the ongoing investigative process,” the office said.
The statement was signed by Aplasca, who reiterated the office’s commitment to transparency and cooperation with legitimate investigative agencies.
The OSAA urged the public and media organizations to exercise responsibility in reporting developments related to the case and to rely on verified information released by authorized government sources.
