ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Walang ganyanan Sir': Nartatez defends integrity of PNP probe amid spliced video claim of ex-cop Aplasca

'Walang ganyanan Sir': Nartatez defends integrity of PNP probe amid spliced video claim of ex-cop Aplasca

Published May 21, 2026 11:10 am  |  Updated May 21, 2026 01:45 pm
PNP chief gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr turns over to DOJ Secretary Fredderick Vida the result of the police investigation into the Senate gunfire incident on May 13, 2026.
PNP chief gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr turns over to DOJ Secretary Fredderick Vida the result of the police investigation into the Senate gunfire incident on May 13, 2026.
At the course of its investigation, the Philippine National Police (PNP) had been trying to fully comprehend why, of all people, a retired police general would lead armed Senate security men and fire warning shots to a legitimate law enforcer.
In fact, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II said Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Mao Aplasca may been fed with wrong information to explain the “lock and load” behavior of the retired two-star police general on the night of May 13.
The shock and disappointment are indeed understandable on the part of the PNP investigators after Aplasca accused them of splicing the CCTV footage to fit what he described as a narrative that the Senate was not under attack.
On Thursday, May 21, no less than PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. aired that frustration as he defended the integrity of its investigation into the May 13 gun-related incident.
He said dedicated teams of investigators worked hard in meticulously poring over the pieces of evidence amid calls for truth over the incident that happened, including the CCTV footage which Aplasca is now saying to have been manipulated.
“The integrity of our investigative process is paramount and the footage we presented is authentic, time-stamped, and direct from the source, leaving no room for claims of manipulation,” Nartatez said.
Nartatez said all the CCTV footages came from the Senate as he maintained that the footage formed part of the official evidence gathered during the investigation.
The CIDG recommended the filing of criminal charges against Aplasca and two of his men at the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms for violation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Republic Act 11917, or the of Private Security Services Act.
Morico said that based on the IRR of the law, there are six stages that need to be observed before the use of lethal force—"and it does not include the use of a warning shot.”
“It is very clear in our investigation that there was no attack in the Senate, there was no intent. In fact, if there is really perceived ongoing attack, why did they abandon the area where the shooting happened,” he added.
Aplasca, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1987,  is currently at the center of the investigation over some odd behavior observed by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla—and shared by police investigators.
Nartatez, for his part, said they remain open to further technical review if Aplasca would insist on his own narrative that the CCTV was spliced.
“We remain fully transparent and welcome any objective, expert validation of these files, as our only objective is to present the unvarnished truth of the events that transpired at the Senate,” said Nartatez, a member of PMA Class 1992. 
“We assure the public that the PNP is committed to a fair, impartial, and transparent investigation,” he added.

Related Tags

PNP Senate gunfire Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. Mao Aplasca
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.