Fresh allegations surfaced Thursday over the source of the gunshots heard during the tense standoff at the Senate complex, with claims circulating online linking the incident to personnel under the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms.
Broadcast journalist Ramon Tulfo, citing an unnamed source, claimed in a social media post that the reported gunfire allegedly came from personnel under Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca and not from agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“The 37 shots fired came from personnel of the Senate sergeant-at-arms under Mao Aplasca. No shots were fired by NBI agents,” Tulfo wrote.
The allegations emerged amid heightened tensions surrounding the possible implementation of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
In the same post, Tulfo further alleged that Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and dela Rosa supposedly benefited politically from the commotion, although he did not present evidence supporting the claim.
He also linked the incident to the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, again without providing proof.
As of posting time, the Senate leadership, the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, and the NBI had yet to issue official statements directly addressing the allegations.
Authorities have not publicly identified who fired the shots, and no official investigation findings have been released.
The Senate complex was briefly placed on lockdown Wednesday night after gunshots were reportedly heard during the standoff involving dela Rosa and authorities linked to the ICC warrant issue. No injuries or casualties were reported.