The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) has dismissed Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca from the service following an administrative investigation into the shooting incident inside the Senate compound, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced.

Remulla said he signed the dismissal order on Monday, June 29, and that the decision would soon be made public.

“Noong Monday, napirmahan ko na ang dismissal ni Mao Aplasca from the service. Acting Sergeant-at-Arms ng Senate at Sergeant-at-Arms of the Commission on Appointments, dinismiss na namin siya from the service (Last Monday, I signed the dismissal of Mao Aplasca from the service. As the Acting Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate and Sergeant-at-Arms of the Commission on Appointments, we have dismissed him from the service),” he said during a DZRH interview on Saturday, July 4.

He said the OMB would release the full decision to allow the public to understand the basis of the ruling.

“Anyway, i-re-reveal namin ang decision para makita ng tao kasi mahirap na magpaliwanag. Basta basahin na lang nila ang decision (Anyway, we will reveal the decision so the public can see it because it would be difficult to explain everything. They should just read the decision),” Remulla said.

The Ombudsman did not immediately disclose the specific findings or grounds for Aplasca’s dismissal, saying these are contained in the written decision.

On May 15, the Ombudsman placed Aplasca under preventive suspension without pay for six months as the anti-graft body began its investigation into the shooting incident inside the Senate.

At the time, Remulla said the preventive suspension was necessary to prevent Aplasca from influencing the investigation.

He earlier described the incident as “very serious,” saying Aplasca allegedly fired 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 was allegedly the first to fire a gun),” Remulla said in an earlier press briefing.

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

As such, the Ombudsman questioned why a Senate official tasked with maintaining order would 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)?” said Remulla.