Police push raps vs Aplasca, 2 aides for firing shots ‘without provocation’
The now-suspended acting chief of the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (Osaa) and two of his men should face criminal charges for illegally discharging their firearms and causing panic inside the Senate building last week, the police said on Wednesday.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police has recommended the filing of complaints against Osaa head Mao Aplasca and two other security personnel for firing their guns “without provocation” on the night of May 13.
They were cited for alleged violation of Republic Act No. 11917, or the Private Security Services Industry Act.
At a press briefing, CIDG director Maj. Gen. Robert AA Morico II said Aplasca did not follow protocol and disregarded the conditions that the law required for a justified use of firearms.
“We will be transmitting our findings to the DOJ (Department of Justice),” Morico said. “It is up to the DOJ to assess.”
Under the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR), private security personnel are required to make a “six-level” assessment of a situation that potentially requires an armed response: alert presence, verbal communication, physical restraints, use of chemical agents, temporary incapacitation; and, finally, use of force or firearms.
“Firearms shall be used only when there is imminent danger and in self defense or defense of strangers,” the IRR said.
A presentation shown by Morico during the press briefing noted that Aplasca and his team encountered “no unlawful aggression” that night.
“Jurisprudence mandates that in self-defense and defense of strangers or relatives, unlawful aggression is indispensable,” the presentation read.
“In fact, there was even no provocation from the said (National Bureau of Investigation) agent to warrant aggression from OSAA,” it added.
“The OSAA should have utilized all of the levels of the force continuum. The usage of their firearms cannot be justified due to the absence of an imminent danger and in self-defense or defense of strangers,” it said.
‘Panic firing’
Prior to the shooting incident, Aplasca verbally asked one of the NBI agents he encountered to identify themselves, according to a report sent by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla to Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.
After the agent identified himself as “NBI,” Aplasca allegedly saw the agent raising a “long firearm,” prompting the Osaa chief to fire a “warning shot,” the report added.
According to Morico, the NBI agent fired at least five shots as he stepped back—all directed away from Aplasca. The agent then met his companion and they regrouped with the rest of their team, the CIDG chief said.
“There were no NBI agents there (in the Senate building) anymore. The problem was… we call it ‘panic firing.’ You assumed you were being attacked. And because the volume of fire was continuous, the NBI agent was firing back, shooting outward,” Morico said.
According to Morico, Aplasca had already surrendered a firearm to the PNP but investigators had yet to establish whether it was the same gun used in the warning shots.
The firearms of the two other Senate security personnel, as well as the NBI agent encountered by Aplasca, had been turned over earlier for ballistic examination.
Aplasca: Video ‘spliced’
There was no immediate comment from Aplasca regarding the CIDG recommendations.
But in a media interview earlier on Wednesday, Aplasca disputed the accuracy of closed-circuit television (CCTV) videos earlier released by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the DOJ and the PNP purportedly showing him firing shots at the NBI agent.
“We are preparing the complete video, because what they did [is] they spliced the videos and they just selected the videos that will support their narrative. That’s not correct,” Aplasca said.
Meanwhile, the CIDG said more than 10 Senate personnel under investigation had yet to appear before investigators despite being subpoenaed.
“They sent us a letter stating that they will not come here in response to the subpoena because they’re new (on the team),” Morico said.
He said they were summoned by the CIDG to help shed light on other matters that remained unclear, including the apparent “miscommunication” regarding the drilling activities earlier that day on the neighboring building of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
According to the incident report, the GSIS administration earlier asked the NBI for help in beefing up security in the bridgeway between the GSIS and Senate.
Morico said “This is where the miscommunication started” between the Osaa and the NBI. “It’s as though you scared yourself just based on unwarranted assumptions.”
According to the CIDG chief, the GSIS wanted reinforcements done to better seal the door leading to the Senate building due to increased activity on the compound following Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s appearance on May 13 after a six-month absence.
Tensions had been high at the compound since that Monday after NBI agents tried but failed to arrest Dela Rosa at the Senate premises on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. —WITH REPORTS FROM PNA AND KEITH CLORES
