PNP vows thorough probe on alleged Senate shootout
The Philippine National Police said on Sunday it is pursuing a thorough investigation into the alleged Senate shootout on Wednesday and will release its findings as soon as possible, as it urged the public to stop spreading rumors and theories on the incident.
“We are looking into all the angles based on facts and all the pieces of evidence that we have and we can get in order to come up with a clear picture of what really happened in the interest of truth, accountability and justice,” PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement.
Nartatez said he did not authorize any covert operation, amid public speculations the PNP knew in advance that its former chief, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, planned to leave the Senate after it had placed him in protective custody.
“As the chief of the PNP, I categorically state that the national leadership had no prior knowledge of, nor did it authorize any logistical assistance for the departure of Senator Dela Rosa from the Senate premises,” Nartatez said.
“Our deployment in the area was strictly confined to public safety, crowd control, and managing the perimeter following the highly volatile shooting incident that occurred hours prior,” he added.
He said the PNP does not participate in “clandestine escorts or partisan maneuvers.”
Police also investigated
Nartatez had also ordered an internal inquiry into allegations that police personnel may have escorted a black van which transported Dela Rosa out of the Senate compound in the wee hours of May 14.
Pasay police chief Col. Joselito de Sesto earlier confirmed he was inside a white police vehicle seen in a viral video leaving the Senate together with a black van at around 3 a.m. But he denied the police escorted the van.
According to Nartatez, police investigators have been ordered to collect and review deployment records, dispatch logs, mobility reports, duty rosters and available body-worn camera footage from units assigned in and around the Senate complex that day.
“If the investigation reveals that there was any unauthorized coordination, false reporting, or logistical support given to evade legal processes, those involved will face the full brunt of administrative and criminal sanctions,” he said.
The police chief acknowledged the urgency of providing people “with definite answers to their questions over the incident, answers that are based on facts and as a result of meticulous investigation.”
Dela Rosa, who as PNP chief served as the chief implementer of then President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war from 2016 to 2018, has been ordered arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) which tagged him as a “co-perpetrator” in that controversial law enforcement campaign. Dela Rosa had also served Duterte during the latter’s long stint as Davao City mayor.
All eyes on Senate
After more than six months in hiding following reports that the ICC had issued an arrest warrant, Dela Rosa showed up at the Senate on May 11 to cast his vote for Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate President. Cayetano later denied the leadership change in the Senate was prompted by the impending impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte.
There had been talks of another Senate shake-up before the Senate convenes on Monday as an impeachment court—with speculations that Senators Francis Pangilinan or Juan Miguel Zubiri may replace Cayetano.
But Pangilinan said in a Facebook post he was not interested in the post. “I will just help them. For me, food security is more important that Senate presidency,” he said.
Zubiri has yet to comment on the matter.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo, in an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday, said he has no idea if another coup is happening.
“This is the first time I’m working with Sen. Cayetano… And it’s only been three days since he became Senate President, so he has not done anything yet. It’s unfair to call for him to be replaced. I guess I’ll just keep my observations to myself. But maybe we should just give him the chance to prove if he’s fit for the post, if he deserves to stay there,” he said.
Cayetano himself said last week there were moves to replace him. —WITH A REPORT FROM TINA G. SANTOS
