Osaa denies reports of missing CCTV footage in Senate shooting

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (Osaa) on Saturday denied claims circulating online that there was no closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage covering the second floor of the Senate building during the Wednesday shooting.

This refers to the confrontation involving the Senate security personnel and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) personnel.

In an official statement, Senate Acting Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca said the Senate CCTV system “was fully operational during the incident” that occurred 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,” Aplasca said.

The statement comes a day after Aplasca said in a radio interview that they “couldn’t find the position of the Osaa and the Marines” in the CCTV review, adding that only the “tail” of their tactical personnel was visible in the footage.

According to the Osaa, the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Regional Field Unit–National Capital Region formally requested copies of the relevant CCTV footage on May 14.

The office said it voluntarily turned over the requested recordings on the same day through its Integrated Electronics and Technical Section, with the participation of the authorized PNP personnel.

The OSAA added that certifications and acknowledgment receipts were signed by the receiving police personnel, specifically covering “DVR 2 CCTV Cam 8 and DVR 8 CCTV Cams 7 and 8” that pertain to the shooting.

“The certifications further affirmed that the CCTV footage provided was authentic, original, unaltered and directly obtained from the official Senate CCTV system,” the statement read.

“These official records categorically disprove allegations that no CCTV footage existed or was made available to authorities,” Aplasca said.

The incident stemmed from tensions surrounding the possible arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa after the International Criminal Court publicly confirmed the issuance of an arrest warrant against him in connection with the Duterte administration’s war on illegal drugs.

Earlier, Aplasca admitted that he fired the first warning shot during the confrontation with NBI agents near the Senate premises, saying it was part of their rules of engagement.

Palace officials, however, said the NBI agents did not attempt to arrest dela Rosa and were merely securing the GSIS compound. /apl