DOJ probes Senate firing incident; request CCTV footage, other documents

The Department of Justice (DOJ) will request copies of CCTV footage and other documents from the Senate as it probes the recent shooting incident at the upper chamber, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said on Friday.

In a press briefing, Vida said the DOJ will request the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms, through the Office of the Senate President, to submit a report and turn over all relevant pieces of evidence in its possession.

This includes CCTV footage, ballistic and paraffin results, deployment records, communication logs, incident reports, witness statements, and other forensic and documentary evidence.

“The department definitely will not prematurely assign liability or validate public claims until all evidence has been fully evaluated. We assure the public that the complete, transparent, and partial investigation will be conducted,” he said.

He also directed and ordered the Philippine National Police, the National Capital Region Police Office, the Pasay City Police Station, and the National Bureau of Investigation to submit all relevant evidence and records pertaining to incidents that took place in the Senate from May 11 to 14 within 48 hours.

This came after Vida directed the creation of a special panel of prosecutors that will conduct case build-up on the incident.

“I would like encourage crowd sourcing of evidence for any available evidence which is verified or can be verifiable. Alam niyo naman, ang daming kumalat na video, you can submit it to our panel of prosecutors investigating this,” he said.

He also called on members of the media to submit photos and videos to the DOJ.

On Wednesday evening, gunshots rang out at the Senate amid a lockdown at the upper chamber.

Malacañang has said that Senate sergeant-at-arms and retired Police Major General Mao Aplasca made the first "warning shot.”

The NBI also denied that its agents were deployed inside the Senate building. It said they were only deployed at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) premises upon the GSIS’ request for assistance to secure the premises.

At least seven gunshots rang out at the Senate premises on Wednesday evening, worsening an already-tense situation at the building which was earlier placed under lockdown in order to affect an arrest.

Meanwhile, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who is subject of an ICC arrest warrant, left the premises of the Senate hours after the shooting incident. — BAP, GMA News