Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday appealed to the Office of the Ombudsman to also place National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag under preventive suspension, questioning the narratives being relayed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following the armed incident inside the Senate on May 13.
The appeal came after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered the six-month preventive suspension of Acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca over the incident involving personnel of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) and agents of the NBI during the standoff surrounding Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
In a Facebook Live on May 15, Cayetano said he accepted in good faith the President’s assurance that authorities had been ordered to stand down but raised concern over whether the information reaching the Chief Executive was accurate.
“I assume that… the President is speaking the truth. Ang problema, is he being told the truth?” he said, referring to Matibag’s insistence that no NBI officials were at the Senate complex.
Mr. Marcos had issued a video message on the night of May 13 saying that apart from NBI personnel who left the Senate upon his instruction, no outside military or NBI units entered the premises.
Aplasca, however, maintained that NBI agents were inside the building and said he fired a warning shot after the agents allegedly refused to lower their firearms.
“Let me just appeal to the Ombudsman, suspend also the NBI Director because he is more of a suspect than General Mao (Aplasca) dito [sa nangyari],” Cayetano said.
He stressed that any independent investigation must be fair not only in its outcome but also in the way it is conducted.
“Remember po, in an investigation it’s not only the result, it’s the process. There will be no independent investigation hanggang hindi sila (NBI) sinususpend tapos ang isu-suspend ay ang sa Senate [lang],” he said.
Cayetano also maintained that the Senate fully cooperated with investigators by allowing access to CCTV footage and other transparency measures.
“We allowed every single transparency measure, we allowed the investigation,” he said.
Despite the controversy, Cayetano said the Senate remains focused on carrying out its constitutional duties, including the expected convening of the impeachment court.
“Hindi po magulo ang Senado, ginugulo po ang Senado. Iba po y’ung magulo, iba po y’ung ginugulo,” he said.