MANILA, Philippines — A exhaustive joint investigation has dismantled initial high-profile claims of an armed raid on the country’s upper legislative chamber. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced that all gathered evidence, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) records, and ballistic profiles confirm no “attack” took place at the Senate building during the chaotic gun-related incident on Wednesday, May 13.
The official findings directly counter previous emphatic statements made by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, who had publicly asserted that the legislative body was “under attack.”
The presence of external law enforcement personnel near the building was misconstrued as a siege team, according to state planners. Remulla clarified that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives involved were never deployed to target lawmakers or breach the legislative floor:
- The Vigil Trigger: The situation developed after Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa publicly called on his loyalists to stage a massive prayer vigil at the complex as he faces an active arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
- Asset Safeguards: Fearing an unmanageable crowd overflow that could damage billions of pesos worth of fine artwork displayed inside the building, GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso requested NBI assistance to reinforce their perimeter security.
- No Tactical Deployments: CCTV footage confirmed that 29 NBI agents arrived at the GSIS compound in standard corporate uniforms—completely unequipped with tactical vest armor, breaching tools, or heavy assault weapons. By 7:02 PM, 27 agents left the area, leaving only two unarmed agents sitting on chairs to secure a connecting bridge.
[Dela Rosa Vigil Call] ──► [GSIS Requests NBI Perimeter Security] ──► [2 Unarmed Agents Guard Bridgeway] │ ▼[44 Shots Fired / No Injuries] ◄── [OSAA "Lock and Load" Orders] ◄── [Miscommunication & False Alarms]
The investigation exposed a massive breakdown in multi-agency communication that led Senate security to believe they were actively being surrounded.
Around 7:44 PM, the acting chief of the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA), retired Police Maj. Gen. Mao Aplasca, gathered administrative personnel, the Marines Security unit, and nearby police elements, giving them a literal command to “lock and load.”
According to forensic timelines mapped out by the Philippine National Police (PNP), Aplasca opened a connecting door, encountered NBI Agent Darwin Francisco, and immediately discharged three warning shots near the agent’s location.
The Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered a total of 44 spent shell casings from the scene, with ballistic mapping narrowing the discharges down to four distinct weapons:
| Weapon Vector | Quantity of Shells | Tactical Breakdown / Direct Intent |
| OSAA Personnel / Aplasca | 39 Spent Casings | Fired indiscriminately into the hallway without clear visual targets before retreating toward media personnel. |
| NBI Agent Francisco | 5 Spent Casings | Discharged strictly as non-targeted “cover fire” while actively retreating, operating under the mistaken impression that his team was under assassination attack. |
| Marines / PNP Guard Units | 0 Fired Rounds | Disciplined line units completely held their fire throughout the confusion, recognizing the absence of a true external threat. |
“For the record, all evidence points that there was no attack on the Senate. I would like to repeat—all evidence points that there was no attack on the Senate… The chief of the OSAA fired shots without a clear target, before retreating toward the area where journalists were positioned. Mind you, there was nobody there. There were no shots being fired at them.” — DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla
While the administrative narrative has cleared the NBI of staging an assault, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman are refusing to close the books. A joint panel of state prosecutors has been formed to determine if the entire security breakdown was artificially manufactured as a smoke screen.
Investigators are looking into whether the false alarm was intentionally triggered to create tactical anarchy inside the complex, allowing Senator Dela Rosa to cleanly slip away from the building undetected and evade the pending ICC warrant service.
To ensure complete legal transparency, the Office of the Ombudsman has subpoenaed complete entry logbooks and issued a formal directive to the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau, demanding the complete identities of all media workers and news crews who covered the midnight lockdown.