The Tamesis
May 22, 2026
Manila – Using CCTV footage collected from multiple sources, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and police issued a clear conclusion on last week’s Senate shooting: The Senate was not attacked. All the bullets – 44 found so far – came from inside the building.
This contradicts Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano’s bellicose insistence that National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents stormed the Senate to issue an arrest warrant for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, whom he has placed in Senate protective custody. The privilege was granted despite legal experts and even the Supreme Court rejecting dela Rosa’s petition to reject an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Dela Rosa is awaiting trial in The Hague, Netherlands, after being accused by the International Criminal Court of being complicit in crimes against humanity charges brought against former President Rodrigo Duterte. As Duterte’s police chief, the senator is considered the primary architect and implementer of Oplan Double Barrel, an anti-drug campaign that resulted in at least 6,000 extrajudicial killings.
Full set of combat equipment
In a television interview before the shooting, de la Rosa revealed that Cayetano himself persuaded him to reappear after six months of absence from the Senate following reports that he was about to be arrested, to cast the crucial 13th vote to oust then-Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. Although Cayetano has denied this, the removal is widely believed to be related to the Senate convening an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte.
Recall that last week on Wednesday night, shots rang out inside the Senate building, causing chaos and panic among Senate staff and the media. Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mau Apraska later admitted that he fired the first shot and several warning shots at NBI agents who allegedly tried to break into the Senate building. Apraska, who was in full combat gear before the shooting began, said Senate security forces were about to arrest someone but did not say who.
CCTV would later show Dela Rosa leaving the Senate in Sen. Robin Padilla’s car early Thursday morning, a clear violation of protective custody that Cayetano dismissed. De La Rosa was not arrested, so he was free to leave, he said.
official narrative
While law enforcement officials stopped short of describing the shooting as “orchestrated,” closed-circuit television footage they released on Tuesday quickly disproved the Senate’s official narrative: NBI agents were not inside the Senate chamber but inside the Government Services Insurance System (GSIS) building, securing a shared exit with the Senate at the request of Senate Chief Jose Arnulfo “Wick” Veloso. DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said rioters could destroy billions of pesos worth of art on GSIS walls as Dela Rosa called for people’s power. The GSIS had also earlier communicated these arrangements to the Senate, he said, adding that Cayetano and Apraska conveniently ignored this telling detail.
The arrested NBI “agent” turned out to be an unarmed volunteer driver who was sent to retrieve the forgotten luggage of an agent protecting GSIS. While he tested positive for gunpowder burns, several Supreme Court cases have ruled that paraffin tests were “inconclusive” and could be caused by handling anything from cigarettes to fertilizer.
Apraska’s refusal to appear before Interior Ministry authorities to answer questions about the incident further added to the revealing nature of the video. Surely Apraska would not have acted without the permission or direction of his boss, Cayetano? He was personally nominated for the position by Dela Rosa, his classmate at the Philippine Military Academy, which also heightened suspicions about his loyalty. Ombudsman Jesus Remulla has since suspended Apraska for six months, but additional charges may be brought.
obstruction of justice
But should Senate leadership also be held accountable, just as Padilla should be sanctioned for his active role in the incident? Obstruction of justice is one of them. By inaction, the Senate may have recklessly — well, inadvertently — allowed De La Rosa to escape custody. Harboring fugitives is not what we expect from lawmakers, as they refused to do in the earlier cases of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and former senators Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes IV.
The Department of Home Affairs, the Police and the National Bureau of Investigation must continue to conduct a thorough, impartial and comprehensive investigation into this Senate fiasco, which has put lives at unnecessary risk and the rule of law has been blatantly abandoned. At the same time, senators should reconsider their role in advancing the democratic space that is undermined by a lack of transparency and accountability from leaders. Should they allow ambition, shifting political alliances and misplaced loyalties to define the institution?
All parties involved should be expected to take full responsibility, if only to restore the credibility, integrity, and independence of a Senate that has been deliberately trampled upon by leaders who misguidedly protect themselves.
