Minority bloc seeks probe into Senate shooting

Minority senators have called for an investigation into the shooting incident that occurred at the Senate on Wednesday.

According to a report on "24 Oras Weekend" by JP Soriano on Saturday, Senator Bam Aquino filed a resolution seeking to determine the root cause of the shooting incident, whether protocols were violated, and whether miscommunication occurred.

“Merong nangyaring pagputok. Maraming empleyado ang akala mamamatay sila. Kaming mga senador, hanggang ngayon, hindi rin malinaw kung ano ba talaga ‘yung nangyari," he said.

(Gunshots were fired. Many employees thought they were going to die. Even we senators, until now, still do not clearly know what really happened.)

"At mahalaga sa taumbayan na malaman natin, let's get to the bottom of this, what really happened that night,” Aquino added.

(It is important for the public to know what truly transpired that night.)

Senator Raffy Tulfo, meanwhile, called for a transparent investigation, saying the Senate’s integrity and credibility should prevail over politics and personal interests.

“Dapat magkaroon ng isang transparent na imbestigasyon sa mga nangyari at lumabas ang katotohanan upang bumalik na sa normal ang aming trabaho at magawa namin ang mandatong ipinagkatiwala sa amin ng taumbayan,” Tulfo said.

(There should be a transparent investigation into what happened so the truth can come out, allowing us to return to normal operations and fulfill the mandate entrusted to us by the people.)

“Ang pagpapanatili ng integridad at kredibilidad ng Senado ay dapat manaig higit sa pulitika at pansariling interes, dahil ang Senado bilang isang institusyon ay umiiral upang maglingkod sa sambayanang Pilipino,” he added.

(Maintaining the integrity and credibility of the Senate must prevail over politics and personal interests because the Senate, as an institution, exists to serve the Filipino people.)

Senator Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, denied insinuations that minority senators had left the Senate early because they supposedly knew violence would erupt.

“It is an unfair and malicious insinuation that we in the minority bloc went home early and left them behind because we knew something would happen. That is quite far from the truth. There is no basis for that because no one knew what would happen that night,” Lacson said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, said those making accusations should be the ones to explain their claims further.

“Gaslighting sila sa ganiyang pang-iintriga, which is beneath the dignity of senators,” she said.

(They are engaging in gaslighting and intrigue that are beneath the dignity of senators.)

The shooting incident happened days after the International Criminal Court confirmed that it had issued an arrest warrant for Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa in connection with the drug war case involving former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Following the shooting incident, dela Rosa reportedly left the Senate premises, according to an official report obtained by GMA News from a reliable source.

The report said dela Rosa left the Senate at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, aboard a sport utility vehicle driven by Senator Robin Padilla, accompanied by an unidentified woman.

Videos captured by GMA News between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Thursday showed several vehicles leaving the Senate basement parking area.

A white SUV was seen exiting at around 2:32 a.m., based on the video timestamp.

The Senate logbook indicated that Padilla departed at 2:35 a.m. At around 3:03 a.m., a white police vehicle bearing Philippine National Police markings was also seen leaving the area.

In a statement Saturday, Pasay police chief Joselito de Sesto confirmed that he was aboard the police vehicle but clarified that it was not part of any convoy escorting any personality.

De Sesto said their departure from the Senate was part of regular police operations and that they proceeded directly to the Pasay City Police Station afterward.

He also denied reports that the police mobile served as an escort vehicle.

“Hindi po namin nakita kung sino ang sumakay doon sa van. Gusto ko lang pong linawin na hindi po ako kasama sa convoy, doon sa sinasabi na paglabas ni Senator Dela Rosa," de Sesto said.

(We did not see who boarded the van. I just want to clarify that I was not part of any convoy during Senator dela Rosa’s reported departure.)

"Wala pong katotohanan ‘yon, ‘yung nababalita na ako’y naging escort. Nagkataon lang po na lumabas kami at kasunod nu’ng itim na van,” he added.

(There is no truth to reports that I served as an escort. It just so happened that we exited and the black van followed.)

As of Saturday, dela Rosa’s whereabouts remained unknown.

Padilla has yet to respond to calls from GMA News .—Jamil Santos/MCG, GMA News