OSAA's Aplasca: No special treatment for Bato dela Rosa

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca on Friday said there will be no special treatment for Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa amid the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him for alleged crimes against humanity.

Aplasca, who recently took helm of the OSAA following the resignation of retired Air Force Major General Rene Samonte, was Dela Rosa's "mistah" at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

Aplasca and Dela Rosa entered the PMA in 1982. Dela Rosa graduated in 1986 while Aplasca in 1987. In July 2025, it was the senator who nominated Aplasca as Senate Sergeant-at-Arms.

READ: Who is Mao Aplasca, the acting OSAA head?

"This is a personal relationship...wala akong kinalaman, hindi ako kasama sa political team ni Sen. Bato," Aplasca told "Balitanghali".

(This is a personal relationship. I am not part of his political team.)

"Wala pong special treatment, Ako, bilang Sergeant-at-Arms, gagawin ko ang trabaho ko na naaayon sa batas...Katulad ng sinabi ni Senate President, the Senate will only honor and respect an order of arrest issued by a local judicial authority," he said.

(We will not give him special treatment. I will just fulfill my duties as Sergeant-At-Arms in accordance to the law. The Senate President instructed us the chamber will only honor and respect an order of arrest issued by a local judicial authority. )

Live news footage captured the sound of gunshots and people running away from the gunshots inside the Senate building Wednesday evening, where Dela Rosa is under the protective custody.

The Senate and the NBI have different versions of the incident, with Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano insisting the chamber was "attacked".

However, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has requested their assistance to secure their building — the same building where the Senate holds office.

Matibag likewise said there was no instruction to arrest Dela Rosa.

"Kapag may operation ang isang armed component ng pamahalaan, kahit isang barangay o bayan ang pagitan ng dalawang unit, nagagawa namin ang coordination kasi iniiwasan namin ang misunderstanding and misencounter," said Aplasca.

(If there is an operation involving the armed component of the government, the units coordinate to avoid misunderstandings or misencounters.)

"I think it is irresponsible for Diretor Matibag not to coordinate with the security forces of the Senate," he added.

Meanwhile, an initial investigation of the Department of the Interior Local Government (DILG) showed 32 shots were fired during Wednesday's shooting incident. Of the number, 27 were from the OSAA and five were from the NBI.

Malacañang said it was Aplasca who made the first "warning shot" during the incident at the Senate. He later confirmed the information.

"The fact is meron bumaril samin and we will interpret that as a threat to our security. May karapatan kami na protektahan ang sarili whether ilang bala ang pinutok namin," he said.

(The fact is someone fired at us and we will interpret that as a threat to our security. We have the right to protect ourselves.)

"Kami nung nagpaputok kami, alam ko, hindi namin intention na tamaan ang mga tao. Kung 'yun ang intention, marami ang mamamatay sa NBI," he said.

(When we opened fire, we had no intention to shoot the NBI agents. If that was the case, a lot of NBI agents would have died.)

Aplasca added: "Sinisigurado ko po sa inyo, with my experience, wala po akong nilabag na security protocol."

(I can assure you, with my experience, I did not violate any protocol.)

Dela Rosa sneaked out of the Senate building amid his possible arrest early Thursday, just hours after the shooting incident. —AOL, GMA News