Philippine Senate Probes Security After Shots Fired During Fugitive Senator's Brief Refuge
Security officers are being investigated for firing their weapons without provocation after a senator sought refuge in the building.
MANILA: The Philippine Senate is conducting an investigation into security personnel who fired their weapons last week following the brief refuge sought by Senator Ronald Dela Rosa within the Senate premises.
According to officials, this incident occurred while Dela Rosa was seeking protection from arrest by government agents.
The fugitive senator, a former national police chief during early phases of President Duterte's controversial anti-drug campaign, narrowly avoided arrest on May 13, leading to chaotic scenes that included gunfire.
Philippine authorities presented their preliminary findings at a public briefing, where Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla identified Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca as the individual who initiated the shooting.
This initial shot prompted a government agent to return fire with a warning shot, according to Remulla's account.
The investigation has concluded that there was no attack on the Senate premises, and government agents did not enter the building.
CCTV footage subpoenaed by investigators from the Senate appears to show Aplasca firing a rifle.
Aplasca, who is a former classmate of Dela Rosa, claims he fired a warning shot upon seeing what he believed to be an armed group attempting to breach the Senate.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano corroborated this account, stating that security guards had fired warning shots out of fear that the Senate was under attack.
Further details reveal that Dela Rosa may have exited the Senate in a vehicle registered to Senator Robin Padilla on the following day.
Dela Rosa is among those accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) along with former President Rodrigo Duterte, facing charges of "crime against humanity of murder" for their roles in the lethal anti-drug campaign.
Duterte was apprehended last year and is currently awaiting trial at the ICC in The Hague.
According to officials, this incident occurred while Dela Rosa was seeking protection from arrest by government agents.
The fugitive senator, a former national police chief during early phases of President Duterte's controversial anti-drug campaign, narrowly avoided arrest on May 13, leading to chaotic scenes that included gunfire.
Philippine authorities presented their preliminary findings at a public briefing, where Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla identified Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca as the individual who initiated the shooting.
This initial shot prompted a government agent to return fire with a warning shot, according to Remulla's account.
The investigation has concluded that there was no attack on the Senate premises, and government agents did not enter the building.
CCTV footage subpoenaed by investigators from the Senate appears to show Aplasca firing a rifle.
Aplasca, who is a former classmate of Dela Rosa, claims he fired a warning shot upon seeing what he believed to be an armed group attempting to breach the Senate.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano corroborated this account, stating that security guards had fired warning shots out of fear that the Senate was under attack.
Further details reveal that Dela Rosa may have exited the Senate in a vehicle registered to Senator Robin Padilla on the following day.
Dela Rosa is among those accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) along with former President Rodrigo Duterte, facing charges of "crime against humanity of murder" for their roles in the lethal anti-drug campaign.
Duterte was apprehended last year and is currently awaiting trial at the ICC in The Hague.
