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MANILA, Philippines — An alleged gunman in Wednesday night’s shooting at the Senate building was a volunteer driver for the National Bureau of Investigation, according to NBI Director Melvin Matibag.
Matibag yesterday clarified that Mel Oragon, 44, is “not an official employee of the NBI” but a volunteer. He explained that Oragon only served as a driver for a group of agents who went to the Government Service Insurance System building in Pasay at the behest of GSIS president and general manager Wick Veloso.
The NBI has been employing force multipliers or volunteers in its operations to make up for its lack of employees, according to Matibag.
The Southern Police District named Oragon as a suspect in the Senate mayhem, which triggered panic and chaos among senators, journalists and employees.
According to the spot report sent to The STAR, Oragon fired several gunshots inside the Senate building using a firearm of undetermined caliber. He was shortly arrested by members of the Senate security detachment assigned within the premises.
The driver, who resides in Tanza, Cavite, has undergone a paraffin examination.
Authorities are still gathering evidence to determine the suspect’s motive. Probers have recovered bullet casings from a 5.56 caliber rifle and a 9mm caliber handgun.
Oragon underwent inquest proceedings for violation of Republic Act 10591, or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition after live ammunition and firearm magazines were recovered from him, alarm and scandal, grave threats, direct assault and violation of Senate security regulations.
There were NBI agents in the building that houses the Senate last Wednesday, but they were sent not to arrest Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, rather to secure the GSIS premises, officials said.
Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said Veloso had sought assistance from the NBI to secure the premises, to which the bureau responded by sending personnel at about 6 p.m.
“At this point, we would like to clarify that first, there was no assault by NBI agents at the Senate; and second, the NBI or PNP (Philippine National Police) had no operation to arrest Senator Bato (dela Rosa),” Castro said at a press briefing yesterday.
According to Castro, security personnel from the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms were seen geared up and preparing for an operation. She said an NBI agent accompanied by a GSIS blue guard was questioned by the OSAA upon reaching a bridge at the state insurer’s premises.
“They introduced themselves as NBI agents and after revealing their identities, Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca immediately fired a warning shot. Because of that, the NBI agent was forced to fire a warning shot also,” the Palace press officer said.
A shooting incident then transpired, with the NBI firing about six warning shots and the OSAA firing “not less than 30” shots, according to PNP chief Gen. Jose Nartatez Jr.
Hours after the shooting incident, President Marcos denied that the government was behind the ruckus, saying no NBI agent was on the Senate grounds and there was no instruction for them to arrest Dela Rosa.
The senator has a pending arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the killings that stemmed from the previous administration’s drug war.
In a video statement, Marcos said he had directed the NBI to leave the Senate premises after the Supreme Court (SC) had issued a resolution ordering all parties in Dela Rosa’s case to comment on the petition seeking to block the senator’s arrest.
“They complied. When I talked to Director Matibag, he said there were no NBI personnel there,” the President said.
Asked during a press briefing yesterday to reconcile Marcos’ statement with the presence of NBI agents in the building, Matibag said the bureau’s personnel were at the premises of the GSIS, not the Senate’s.
“I am sure we did not have personnel at the Senate premises, at the Senate building, but GM Wick Veloso had requested the deployment of the NBI,” Matibag said. “The other NBI personnel outside did not have firearms because they are our (intelligence) personnel.”
The PNP has begun a comprehensive investigation into the gunfire in the Senate building, with police investigators looking if the shooting was staged or a diversionary tactic which allowed Dela Rosa to slip past heavy security composed of thousands of police officers.
Nartatez has already ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to probe the incident together with the Pasay City police station which has territorial jurisdiction over the Senate complex.
Nartatez also directed police investigators to secure and preserve CCTV footage, radio communications and entry logs at the Senate which may establish what happened before, during and after the shooting.
Among the angles the PNP is looking into was if the incident was staged to divert the attention of law enforcement authorities to allow Dela Rosa’s escape act.
Asked if they are investigating if the incident was staged or a diversionary tactic, PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said: “It includes all angles.”
As part of its probe, Tuaño said Police Security and Protection Group officers, Philippine Marine Corps personnel and members of the OSAA will undergo paraffin testing, including Aplasca.
The purpose of the paraffin test, Tuaño said, is to determine who among the uniformed personnel used their firearms.
Tuaño said the trajectory of the bullet holes were upwards, which required a forensic investigation.
The PNP is also investigating if there were operational lapses on the part of police officers after Senate minority leader Vicente Sotto III was assaulted by a rowdy pro-Dela Rosa crowd as he was leaving the Senate complex aboard his vehicle. – Alexis Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Bella Cariaso, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Ghio Ong
