Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla on Friday, May 15, placed Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca under preventive suspension without pay for six months effective immediately, as the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) begins its investigation into the shooting incident inside the Senate of the Philippines.

Remulla said the preventive suspension was necessary to prevent any possible influence on the ongoing investigation.

“Pwede niya i-appeal ‘yan. Kaya lang mag-iimbestiga tayo. Hindi tayo pwede maglagay ng tao na maaari maka-impluwensya sa mga bagay na kailangan natin mabungkal dito sa Senado (He can appeal that. But we will conduct an investigation. We cannot allow a person who may influence matters that we need to uncover here in the Senate),” he said during a press conference in Quezon City. 

“At siyempre kaya nga tayo nag preventive suspension para walang due influence sa imbestigasyon (And of course, that is exactly why we imposed preventive suspension so there would be no undue influence on the investigation),” he added.

Remulla said Aplasca’s suspension took effect immediately.

“Now. Effective today,” he said when asked when the suspension would take effect.

The Ombudsman said the suspension would last for six months and would be implemented without pay.

“No pay,” he added.

Remulla described the incident as “very serious,” noting that it allegedly involved Aplasca firing the first shot during the confrontation inside the Senate premises.

“Sa isang opisina na itinatag ang ating Saligang Batas, ang mga pangyayaring ito ay hindi katanggap-tanggap. Lalung-lalo na’t siya ay gumaganap bilang sergeant-at-arms, at siya pa ang unang nagpaputok ng baril (In an institution established by our Constitution, these incidents are unacceptable. Especially since he serves as the sergeant-at-arms, and he was allegedly the first to fire a gun),” he said.

“It’s worrisome if we allow this to go unpunished. We can’t ignore something of this magnitude,” he went on.

Remulla further said it was alarming for a Senate official tasked with maintaining order to allegedly fire at law enforcement personnel.

“Worrisome ‘yon kasi nga papuputukan mo law enforcement? Ano siya, mas mataas sa law enforcement? (That is worrisome because why would you fire at law enforcement? Is he above law enforcement?),” he said.

“He’s supposed to help the Senate maintain the rules of the Senate, pero para putukan mo ang law enforcement, ibang usapan ‘yan. Hindi natin tino-tolerate ‘yung ganyang behavior (He’s supposed to help the Senate maintain its rules, but firing at law enforcement is a different matter. We do not tolerate that kind of behavior),” he went on.

The Ombudsman also disclosed that subpoenas had already been issued for the Senate’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the night of the incident amid allegations that some footage may have been concealed.

“Kagaya niyan, ‘yung usap-usapan sa CCTV narinig natin, may subpoena na rin tayong inisyu para ibigay satin ang CCTV sa Senado noong gabing iyon para makita natin ang buong pangyayari (For example, regarding the discussions surrounding the CCTV footage, we have already issued a subpoena requiring the Senate to provide the CCTV recordings from that night so we can see the entire incident),” Remulla said.

“Sana naman ay walang nawawala na footage sapagkat may mga allegations tsaka mayroong mga nagsasabi baka tinago na ‘yung mga CCTV footage. Sana naman walang cover-up (Hopefully, no footage is missing because there are allegations and claims that some CCTV footage may have been hidden. Hopefully, there was no cover-up),” he added.

Likewise, Remulla said the OMB would subpoena footage from media organizations and other individuals present during the incident.

“At least we will subpoena the footages of all the networks and all of those who were present para naman magkatulungan tayo, para malaman natin lahat (At least we will subpoena the footage of all networks and all those who were present so we can work together and know the full truth),” he said.

The OMB said the investigation would also include the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Senate officials, and police personnel who responded to the incident.

“Ang diskusyon na ‘to kasama lahat, kasama ang NBI dito na ating iimbestigahan. Kasama rito ang SAA. Kasama rin ang mga pulis na nagpunta sa lugar na iyon para malaman natin ang buong pangyayari mula sa perspektibo ng gobyerno (This discussion includes everyone. The NBI is included in the investigation. The Senate Sergeant-at-Arms is included. The police officers who went to the area are also included so we can determine the entire incident from the government’s perspective),” Remulla said.

In addition, Remulla said senators Robin Padilla and Jinggoy Estrada would also be asked to provide their accounts regarding the incident and the alleged handling of CCTV footage.

“Kasama iyan sa imbestigasyon. Kasama siyempre si Senator Robin Padilla at hihingan natin ng bersyon ng pangyayari sa lahat, pati kay Senator Jinggoy Estrada kasi nga merong insinuations na sinabi niya na itago ‘yung CCTV (That is included in the investigation. Senator Robin Padilla is included, of course, and we will ask everyone for their version of events, including Senator Jinggoy Estrada because there are insinuations that he allegedly suggested hiding the CCTV footage),” he said.

Remulla said the Ombudsman was already forming a panel that would handle the investigation and issue subpoenas as early as next week.

“We’re in the process of forming a panel that will be complete by the end of the day, para mag-issue na kami ng subpoenas, as early as next week (We’re in the process of forming a panel that will be complete by the end of the day so we can begin issuing subpoenas as early as next week),” he said.

According to Remulla, the possible violations being looked into include obstruction of justice, gross neglect of duty, failure to maintain public order and safety within Senate premises, and aiding and abetting a fugitive of justice.

“Obstruction of justice ‘yung isa sa pinaka-mabigat diyan. Failure to maintain public order and safety in the Senate premises, tsaka aiding and abetting a fugitive of justice. Gross neglect of duty (Obstruction of justice is among the gravest possible violations there. There is also failure to maintain public order and safety in the Senate premises, aiding and abetting a fugitive of justice, and gross neglect of duty),” he said.

As such, Remulla stressed that the alleged discharge of firearms inside the Senate building could have endangered lives, including members of the media covering the incident.

“Marami kasi unforgivable, mahirap patawarin ‘yung ginawa niyang ‘yon. Nagpaputok ng baril sa loob ng premises ng enclosed building. Mas lalong delikado ‘yon. He could’ve hit somebody,” he said.

“(There are many unforgivable things there. What he did is difficult to forgive. He fired a gun inside the premises of an enclosed building. That is even more dangerous. He could’ve hit somebody.)”

“I’m sure ‘yung mga kapatid niyo sa hanap-buhay, mga kaibigan natin sa media, many of them were shell-shocked by that kind of ruckus caused by gunfire. Hindi biro ‘yon. Naii-embed sa utak natin, sa consciousness natin pag pumuputok ang baril. Walang may gusto non (I’m sure your colleagues and our friends in the media were shell-shocked by that kind of ruckus caused by gunfire. It is not a trivial matter. The sound of gunfire gets embedded in our minds and consciousness. Nobody wants that),” he added.

Asked whether the incident may have been staged, Remulla said the Ombudsman would determine that through its investigation.

“We will find out, that’s why we’re conducting an investigation. There are allegations na ito ay moro-moro, scripted. Tingnan natin kung scripted (We will find out, that’s why we’re conducting an investigation. There are allegations that this was staged or scripted. Let us determine whether it was scripted),” he said.

“We will find out from the facts as we’re able to gather everything properly,” he added.

Also, Remulla called on members of the media who witnessed the incident to cooperate with the investigation by submitting affidavits and video footage.

“We will ask our friends from media to submit their own affidavits para masabi nila ang pangyayari, and together with their footages (We will ask our friends from the media to submit their own affidavits so they can narrate what happened together with their footage),” he said.

This stemmed from a shooting incident that transpired inside the Senate on May 13 amid heightened tensions over the reported International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa and its possible implementation.

The incident sparked widespread concern online and prompted calls for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the discharge of firearms inside the Senate premises.