NBI: Authorities probing if Senate shooting was staged

MANILA, Philippines — National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag said Thursday that authorities are conducting a thorough investigation into the shooting incident inside the Senate premises, including whether the “attack” was staged.

At around 7:46 p.m. on Wednesday, gunshots were heard along the Senate’s second-floor corridor, followed by several more shots, some of which sounded like they came from automatic weapons.

READ: Palace: Senate sergeant-at-arms fired first as warning shot to NBI

“Well, that is part of an ongoing investigation — all of that has already been included. For now, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police are working together. We will review the footage, if there are any CCTV recordings, and we will use our forensic capabilities to determine what really happened,” said Matibag at a Palace press briefing when asked for clarification on rumors that the incident was orchestrated.

“That is still part of our ongoing investigation. The only thing we can share with you is what Undersecretary Claire Castro has already presented factually regarding how it happened,” he also said.

The shooting incident transpired as Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over his alleged involvement in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, was under the Senate’s protective custody.

READ: NBI, eye interagency move after Dela Rosa Senate exit confirmed

Less than 24 hours later, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed that dela Rosa was no longer on the upper chamber’s premises.

Castro, Palace press officer, in a statement she read at the start of the briefing, said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca first fired a warning shot at an NBI agent who was on the premises of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), where the Senate is located. The NBI agent then allegedly returned fire.

Castro explained that GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso had requested assistance from the NBI to secure the GSIS building amid tensions surrounding the supposed arrest of dela Rosa.

She maintained that the NBI agents did not commit any assault inside the Senate and that there had been no operation to arrest dela Rosa. /das /atm