DILG says Senate gun incident not an attack

INVESTIGATIONS into the events surrounding former police Chief-turned-Senator Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa on May 13 found no evidence of an attack on the Senate, Interior Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla said on Tuesday, countering earlier claims of Senate President Alan Peter S. Cayetano.

“For the record, all evidence points that there was no attack on the Senate. I would like to repeat, all evidence points that there was no attack on the Senate,” Mr. Remulla told a briefing on Tuesday.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said authorities reviewed video footage and other evidence covering events from Mr. dela Rosa’s public warning that he expected to be arrested through the time he left the Senate premises.

Mr. dela Rosa, a close ally of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, has been linked to investigations tied to the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign.

Federal agents and the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms exchanged fires in Senate premises on May 13 as Mr. dela Rosa tried to evade arrest.

In relation to the same incident, the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday requested the names of the media personnel who covered the May 13 Senate shootout for its fact-finding investigation.

In a letter addressed to Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau Director Michael D. Caber, Field Investigation Bureau Director Maria Melinda S. Mananghaya-Henson sought a list of the media staff who were at the Senate premises from May 13 to 14, including logbook entries.

Should the list be unavailable, the Office of the Ombudsman requested a sworn certification explaining the failure to provide the requested documents.

The Senate shooting incident between the National Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) personnel took place on Wednesday about an hour after session had been adjourned.

The shooting erupted at the Senate premises around 7:46 in the evening, according to Mr. Remulla.

Newly elected Senate President Alan Peter S. Cayetano earlier said the OSAA staff fired 27 times, with five shots coming from the “other side,” citing reports by Mr. Remulla.

The Ombudsman also issued on Monday the suspension order against Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao R. Aplasca, which had been received by then-Senate Secretary Mark Llandro L. Mendoza.

Mr. Mendoza also told reporters on Monday that they have also received the subpoena for a copy of the CCTV footage of the shootout. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana and Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel