Acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca was placed under preventive suspension without pay for six months by the Ombudsman for discharging his firearm that triggered the shooting incident in the Senate last Wednesday.
Senator Bato dela Rosa, on the other hand, was placed under immigration lookout, with Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida ordering law enforcement personnel to arrest the senator if he tries to flee the country.
Senator Robin Padilla, for his part, was named a “persons of interest” by the National Bureau of Investigation in relation to Dela Rosa’s escape from the Senate early Thursday dawn.
‘Unacceptable’
Ombudsman Crispin Remulla said Aplasca’s admission that he was the first to fire a warning shot at NBI operatives was “unacceptable.”
Aplasca, who hails from Davao, is a mistah or classmate of Dela Rosa in the Philippine Military Academy.
“You will shoot at law enforcement? We do not tolerate that,” Remulla said.
“That is why we need to investigate. What he did was unacceptable. What right does he have to do that? Who is he?” he added.
The NBI agents were at the GSIS office that is adjacent to the Senate Wednesday upon the request for security assistance of GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo Veloso.
Remulla said the suspension order on Aplasca was already transmitted to the Senate, and the latter can appeal the order.
NBI execs’ suspension also sought
Meanwhile, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano appealed to Remulla to also suspend NBI Director Melvin Matibag and NBI Organized and Transnational Crimes Division chief Jerome Bomediano in connection with the shooting incident.
“Let me just appeal to the Ombudsman, suspend also the NBI director because he is more of a suspect than General Mao (Aplasca),” Cayetano said.
In explaining his decision to fire a warning shot, Aplasca said this was the protocol “when we perceive danger to the lives of our policemen.”
“Our protocol is that if we see danger, we challenge them to identify themselves,” he said.
Cayetano said five shots came from the “other side” after Aplasca’s warning shot, prompting other Senate security personnel to fire 27 times back. No one was hurt in the shooting incident.
‘Mockery of justice’
Vida, for his part, said an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order has already been issued against Dela Rosa to prevent him from fleeing the country.
The Justice chief also confirmed the Philippines has officially received the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa from the International Criminal Court.
“I do confirm that there is a valid ICC arrest warrant as well as a pending request from ICC… it has been duly received by the Philippines,” Vida said.
On its website, the ICC already listed Dela Rosa as a defendant “at large” for crimes against humanity in relation to the bloody war on drugs during the Duterte administration.
“We’ve sent notices to our border control authorities, basically. So, in effect, if he is sighted or seen trying to flee the country, he will be arrested,” Vida said, saying the government will treat any attempt on Dela Rosa’s part to leave the Philippines as a “mockery of justice.”
“I’m giving specific orders to law enforcement agents and border control authorities that if Senator Bato dela Rosa will try to leave the country, an appropriate arrest should be made,” Vida added.
The Justice chief clarified there is no manhunt operation yet against Dela Rosa as the government complies with the 72-hour period set by the Supreme Court for parties to comment on the lawmaker’s petition to stop the enforcement of the warrant.
“The order for his arrest is conditional. If you are leaving the country, then that’s a different story,” he said.
‘Be accountable’
Remulla, for his part, chided Dela Rosa for using the Senate to evade the ICC arrest warrant, noting that flight is an indication of guilt.
“I am surprised – he was a former PNP chief, yet now he is running from the law. He should face the charges. Why is he creating chaos?” the Ombudsman said.
“One should be accountable for his actions. Answer the case. If you are innocent, face the case. What kind of person is he? Should our senators act like that…running away from the law? Remulla added.
In February, Dela Rosa, Senator Bong Go, and six others were identified as “co-perpetrators” in the crimes against humanity trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte, documents released by ICC prosecutors showed.
Other individuals also identified as indirect co-perpetrators were former PNP officials Oscar Albayalde, Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan, and Isidro Lapeña as well as former National Bureau of Investigation Director Dante Gierran and former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre.
According to the ICC prosecution document, “Duterte and his co-perpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals in the Philippines (including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production) through violent crimes including murder.”
ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018 as part of his “war on drugs.”
‘Explain Dela Rosa’s disappearance’
According to Matibag, Padilla is now among the “persons of interest” in Dela Rosa’s disappearance from the Senate, where he is supposed to be under protective custody
“If there is somebody to explain the whereabouts of Senator ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, I think the best person to explain that is Senator Robinhood Padilla,” Matibag said.
“He (Padilla) is the main person of interest to shed light on Senator Bato’s whereabouts,” he added.
He said Aplasca and Cayetano must also explain what happened.
“In my view, (Cayetano is) not a person of interest. But someone who owes an explanation to the public is Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, because they placed Senator Bato under protective custody, preventing us from arresting him last Monday because we respected their resolution,” Matibag said.
Cayetano on Thursday said Dela Rosa’s departure from the Senate was not an “escape” since there was no standing arrest warrant against the lawmaker from a local court.
Cayetano said Dela Rosa’s wife sent him a message confirming that her husband had left the building: “We would like to thank you and all the other senators for all the support you have done for my husband. At the same time, I’d also like to ask for forgiveness… It is for this reason I am sure that Ronald made his ‘escape.’ He told me, habang tumatagal kasi siya diyan sa loob ay mas madadamay pa kayo.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “Aplasca suspended over ‘unacceptable’ Senate gunfire.”
