Senate, Executive impasse worsens

The standoff between the Executive agencies and the Senate over the siege of the chamber last Wednesday to effect an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa intensified yesterday,

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Saturday questioned the credibility of the investigation into the armed standoff inside the Senate, arguing that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) cannot credibly investigate an incident in which they were directly involved or had operational awareness of.

At the center of Cayetano’s criticism was what he described as an inherent conflict of interest in allowing law enforcement agencies to lead the probe into the 13 May security incident, where gunfire erupted between Senate security personnel and NBI agents during a disputed operation linked to an alleged International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Dela Rosa.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, meanwhile, revealed that the Senate refused to accept a subpoena for a copy of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the Senate shooting incident.

“There is a problem. The Senate did not accept our process server,” Remulla said on his radio program.

“But there is already a notice. [Senate President Cayetano] even said that [NBI director Melvin Matibag] should be charged,” he added.

Remulla described the Senate’s refusal to receive the subpoena as a formal rejection of due process.

He blamed the refusal on the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, headed by retired Police Gen. Mao Aplasca, whom Remulla ordered be placed on a six-month suspension on Friday.

Bida or kontrabida

“If you want to be the good guys or you want to be the ‘bida’ (hero), you cannot be the ‘kontrabida’ (villain),” Cayetano said.

“It is clear: you cannot say you will investigate to find the truth when you yourself are the one who should be investigated,” he added.

Cayetano said the situation undermines public confidence in the inquiry, noting that the NBI, an attached agency of the DoJ, was directly involved in the confrontation, while senior DoJ officials allegedly had prior knowledge of operational movements related to the incident.

He also questioned Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida’s admission that he had prior knowledge of the NBI movements on both Monday and Wednesday, saying this further raised doubts about the department’s neutrality.

“It’s the other way around; you should be part of those being investigated. If you knew [about the NBI’s actions], why didn’t you speak up?” Cayetano said.

The controversy stemmed from a broader dispute over the attempted service of an ICC arrest warrant on Dela Rosa, who resurfaced in the Senate early in the week amid the heightened political tension and leadership change in the chamber.

The ICC, based in The Hague, is investigating alleged crimes against humanity connected to the Duterte administration’s anti-drug war. Philippine authorities have yet to clarify the scope of cooperation in the disputed enforcement action regarding Dela Rosa’s arrest warrant.

Cayetano said the incident was an issue of institutional integrity, stressing that law enforcement agencies cannot conduct uncoordinated operations inside a coequal branch of government.

“We’re protecting the integrity of the Senate, the integrity of our Philippine Constitution,” Cayetano said.

Torre: Warning shot justified

While supporting calls for a comprehensive investigation to uncover the “full context” of the gunfire that erupted at the Senate last Wednesday, a former Philippine National Police chief believes the firing of a warning shot during the standoff was justified.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority general manager Nicolas Torre III said Aplasca made the decision to fire a warning shot that triggered an exchange of gunfire between the OSAA and the NBI agents who tried to breach the Senate premises.

Aplasca replaced retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Rene Samonte, whom Dela Rosa had reprimanded for allowing NBI agents into the Senate grounds.

“Maybe Aplasca found it appropriate. So he did it,” Torre said.