National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag on Tuesday came to the defense of the NBI volunteer driver who was arrested in connection with last week’s shooting incident at the Senate.

Matibag, who was in Camp Crame for a Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) press conference, said the bureau had not issued a firearm to driver Mel Oragon who was arrested by Southern District police for allegedly firing a gun in the Senate. 

The police said Oragon had tested positive for gunpowder residue.

Matibag said videos circulating online showed Oragon was on the fifth floor of the GSIS building adjacent to the Senate when the shooting occurred.

He said the NBI driver was brought to the Senate grounds during the arrest, where personnel of the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) allegedly fired shots.

“When the clearing operation was ongoing, he went back because his companion had left a bag. He was supposed to retrieve it, but before he could reach it, he was chased, arrested, and brought to the Senate where he was made to lie face down on the floor,” Matibag told reporters.

He said this sequence of events may explain the finding of positive gunpowder residue.

“Based on what I saw, he was made to lie down in the area where OSAA personnel were firing their guns. There was gunpowder on the floor where gunshots were being fired,” he said.

Warrant is valid

Matibag maintained that the NBI “always listens” to the Supreme Court but stressed that the arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa from the International Criminal Court (ICC) remained valid.

“There is an ongoing case at the Supreme Court. And from the point of view of lawyers, including the DoJ, we always listen to the Supreme Court. But one thing is clear: the warrant is valid,” he said.

Dela Rosa is wanted by the ICC as a “co-perpetrator” in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, which killed thousands. His camp has filed several urgent motions before the Supreme Court seeking to block the warrant’s implementation.

Senate guards at CIDG

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño confirmed that some OSAA personnel appeared before the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Camp Crame on Tuesday in connection with the probe into the Senate shooting incident.

Tuaño said suspended OSAA acting chief Mao Aplasca was also present, as confirmed by CIDG-NCR chief Col. John Guiagui.

Authorities have yet to release further details on the OSAA personnel’s appearance.

The shooting incident occurred two days after Dela Rosa resurfaced at the Senate following a six-month absence amid reports of an ICC arrest warrant out for him.