The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has linked a report of a security threat to the Senate to the 18 former bodyguards of former Representative Elizaldy Co, alleging that the “armed group” behind the purported scheme may be connected to them.
Acting Senate President Win Gatchalian told reporters in a virtual presser on Wednesday that the intel came from NBI director Melvin Matibag during the Blue Ribbon Committee’s consultative meeting on Monday.
At the time, the 18 bodyguards were in Senator Robin Padilla’s office on the fifth floor while the hearing into the flood control corruption controversy was going on in the session hall on the second floor.
The NBI named certain personalities suspected of being behind the threat, although Gatchalian refused to disclose their identities pending an investigation.
“What he [Matibag] said was there was a possibility there were individuals who will cause a disruption to Senate [operations], and it’s a possibility they are an armed group,” Gatchalian said.
“According to the NBI, it might be connected to them [bodyguards],” he added.
Earlier, Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former PNP chief, said there was growing unrest within the military and uniformed services triggered by the ongoing power play in the Senate, the unresolved flood control fiasco, the surging inflation, and the high petroleum prices.
The personalities allegedly involved in the plot against the Senate were notorious as “power-hungry destabilizers” and were known partisans, according to Lacson.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines, however, was quick to debunk Lacson’s claim, asserting that it remained nonpartisan and would not interfere in the ongoing political dispute.
The security threat has prompted heightened security protocols and a temporary work-from-home arrangement for Senate employees to prevent the recurrence of the 13 May shooting incident that sent individuals, including members of the press, into full panic mode.
Gatchalian said they consider the threat “serious,” especially at this time when the situation is “tense” due to several issues rocking the administration.
The Senate security force has been beefed up despite the work from home mandate to ensure that operations would be unhampered in the face of the supposed threat from the armed group.
The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency was also alerted to boost the Senate’s intel efforts.
Citing intelligence reports, Gatchalian said a widespread mobilization is scheduled for Friday — during the observance of Independence Day — at the Senate and at Malacañang.
The Senate lockdown will remain in effect until Thursday, while the extension will depend entirely on the recommendations of the chamber’s in-house security officials.
Senator Alan Cayetano, meanwhile, questioned the timing of Gatchalian’s tight security protocol, hinting at a possible “coverup” following allegations by the 18 bodyguards of Co who alleged systemic government corruption.
