MANILA – The Philippines’ anti-corruption leader has imposed a six-month suspension on the Senate’s top security official after gunfire erupted in the legislative building Wednesday, followed by the flight of a senator sought by the International Criminal Court.
“It’s a preventive suspension meant to make things easier for us to get to the bottom of this,” Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla stated during a Friday press briefing.
“We can’t ignore something of this magnitude,” Remulla explained, noting that Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca’s suspension became effective Friday.
Reuters was unable to immediately reach Aplasca for his response to the suspension.
Military forces were sent to the legislative complex after Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who previously led President Rodrigo Duterte’s aggressive anti-drug campaign, called on his followers to gather and prevent his pending arrest on an ICC warrant.
Aplasca has acknowledged firing the initial warning shot during a confrontation with National Bureau of Investigation officers within the Senate facility.
“He was the first to fire. Do you fire at law enforcement? We do not tolerate that,” Remulla declared. “What right does he have to do that? Not even the President will do that.”
Dela Rosa, who had been sheltering in the Senate since Monday, has relocated elsewhere following what his spouse called an “escape” in the early morning hours Thursday.
“Flight is an indication of guilt, right? That’s a very basic tenet of criminal law. Flight is an indication of guilt,” Remulla observed.
“Is that how our senators should be, someone who runs from the law? He should be held accountable. He should just face the accusations and respond properly if he really has done nothing wrong.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr previously urged restraint and stated that no government staff participated in the confrontation. Both the Senate and law enforcement agencies confirmed that an inquiry into the shooting incident is ongoing.
According to the Philippine Constitution and the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman possesses the power to sanction public officials and can implement preventive suspensions to maintain objectivity during investigations.
