Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto expressed hope that conscience would prevail, especially among those in positions of power, following the incident inside the Senate building where gunshots were heard on Wednesday night, May 13.
Sotto said that, for now, the public can only watch and pray for the country.
“Ngayon ko lang nakita ’yung kaguluhan sa Senado. For now, all we can do is watch and pray for our country,” he said. “Sana ay malinawan ang ating mga isipan at manaig ang konsensiya ng bawat isa [lalo na ng mga nasa matataas na posisyon],” the mayor added.
On Wednesday night, police forces nationwide were placed under the highest security alert status following the incident inside the Senate building, where gunshots were heard in connection with the alleged attempt to arrest Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa—a wanted man in the eyes of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said security monitoring and police presence around the Senate premises have been intensified amid the ongoing investigation.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) denied deploying agents to the Senate to implement the arrest order against Dela Rosa.
Meanwhile, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the shots heard did not come from policemen, stressing he was “100 percent sure” about it.
Hours after the incident, President Marcos revealed that no government entity was tasked to arrest Dela Rosa. He said the incident at the Senate, where Dela Rosa has been staying since resurfacing on Monday, was not carried out by the government.
Marcos also debunked allegations that the NBI or any part of the government was behind the alleged shootout, the circumstances of which remain unclear.
The President disclosed that he spoke with Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, and they agreed to determine who caused the disturbance in the Senate.
“Nakausap ko na si Senate President Alan Cayetano at nag-agree kami. We agree that the thing to do now is to tell our people all to calm down. And we will get to the bottom of this,” Marcos said.
He added that they would also establish whether it was a mere encounter or if “there were people involved who were trying to destabilize things or start trouble.” (Richielyn Canlas)
