By Lane Afable, News Editor
The Office of the Ombudsman on Monday served on acting Senate Sergeant at Arms (SAA) Mao Aplasca a six-month preventive suspension order after he admitted to firing the first warning shot that led to an exchange of gunfire with National Bureau of Investigation personnel in the Senate last week.
“Ombudsman personnel were in Senate to attempt to serve the Order of Preventive Suspension of Acting SAA Aplasca as well as the Subpoena for the CCTV footage [of the shooting incident],” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said.
He added that they later received confirmation that both documents were received by the Senate secretariat.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered Aplasca’s suspension on May 15 after he created a team to look into the shooting incident between SAA personnel and NBI agents on May 13, two days after Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa showed up at the Senate after being in hiding for over six months.
Dela Rosa’s appearance created tension between some senators and the NBI, which had sent two agents to arrest him based on a warrant from the International Criminal Court, which earlier tagged him as a “co-perpetrator” in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
Suspect positive for gunpowder
Remulla said the suspension of Aplasca was aimed at preventing anyone from influencing the investigation. He also issued a subpoena for copies of the Senate’s CCTV footage of the incident, saying he would likewise ask for recordings and affidavits from reporters who were there at the time.
Hours after the shooting, Dela Rosa secretly left the Senate, which had placed him under its protective custody to prevent his arrest.
A supposed NBI driver who was arrested during the Senate shooting incident has tested positive for gunpowder residue based on the results of his paraffin test, according to the Southern Police District (SPD).
A paraffin test determines the presence of gunpowder residue on a person’s hands, which may indicate if they recently fired a gun.
SPD spokesperson Lt. Margaret Panaga, however, told Camp Crame reporters that their investigation is still ongoing, saying: “For now, we can’t give any conclusive details.”
When arrested, Mel Oragon, 40, yielded a brown sling bag containing 30 pieces of cal. 5.56 ammunition; a long magazine with 26 pieces of cal. 5.56 ammunition; and a short magazine with 15 pieces of cal. 9mm ammunition, according to Panaga.
He was also caught allegedly with a blue jacket with NBI markings, a black polo shirt with an NBI logo and a badge, Panaga added.
Oragon has undergone inquest proceedings for alarm and scandal, tumults and disturbances of public order, resistance and disobedience to a person in authority, disturbance of proceedings, trespassing on property, direct assault and violation of Republic Act No. 10591, or the firearms and ammunition regulation law.
Just a volunteer
NBI Director Melvin Matibag had said that Oragon was not an NBI employee but rather a “volunteer.” The Inquirer contacted Matibag for comment on Monday, but as of this writing, he had yet to respond.
