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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Tit for tat: NBI chief says Cayetano should be suspended too for command responsibility over Senate gunfire

Tit for tat: NBI chief says Cayetano should be suspended too for command responsibility over Senate gunfire

Published May 19, 2026 12:50 pm  |  Updated May 19, 2026 01:04 pm
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Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano should be suspended too for command responsibility over the incident that happened in the Senate on May 13.
That is the position of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag in reaction to the statement of Cayetano urging the Office of the Ombudsman to suspend the former for the alleged attack on the Senate.
“I wasn’t the one who fired a gun. Maybe he was thinking that as a head of the NBI, I should be suspended too for command responsibility,” said Matibag in a media forum in Manila on Tuesday, May 19.
“If that would be the basis, then the first to be suspended is Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano because the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms is his command responsibility,” he stressed.
Last week, an angry Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced the suspension of retired police general Mao Aplasca after it was confirmed that the latter was the first to open fire as warning shot during the May 13 incident at the Senate.
What drew the ire of Remulla was the fact that Aplasca fired a warning shot against a legitimate law enforcer, an NBI agent which was tasked to secure the adjacent GSIS facility.
The six-month suspension order was not initially accepted by the Senate but Remulla said the order is valid whether or not the party involved accept the document or not.
Cayetano was later quoted saying that Matibag should be suspended too.
But Matibag said there’s no logical reason to do so because contrary to the claim of Cayetano and some senators, the NBI did not enter the Senate to implement the arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
As the head of the Senate, Matibag said Cayetano has supervision and control over Aplasca who was designated as Senate Sergeant-At-Arms on Monday after the Senate coup that ousted Sen. Tito Sotto.
“In fact, the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms (Aplasca) admitted that they were the ones talking during that incident,” said Matibag.
The NBI director, however, assured that he is ready to face any investigation in relation to the matter—and even willing to face any penalty if he is found liable.
But Matibag stressed that he and the NBI did nothing wrong because there was neither an attempt to enter the Senate nor arrest dela Rosa.
For the NBI agents, it was the Senate, through the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms, that overreacted that led to the gunfire.
“None of that would have happened if shots were not fired,”Matibag stressed.
“And speaking of command responsibility, who was the head of the Senate when that happened,” he stressed.

Related Tags

NBI Senate gunfire Melvin Matibag Alan Peter Cayetano command responsibility Ombudsman suspension
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