A senator has asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to temporarily relieve three senior National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officials amid the probe into the shooting incident inside the Senate building on Wednesday night.
In a May 14, 2026 letter to the President, Senator Imee Marcos sought the temporary relief of NBI Director Melvin Matibag, NBI National Capital Region chief lawyer Emeterio Dongallo Jr., and NBI Organized and Transnational Crime Division chief lawyer Jerome Bomediano.
Marcos said the move was necessary as alleged NBI personnel were reportedly linked to the incident, which she described as a matter of serious concern.
“Such temporary relief is necessary to preserve the integrity and credibility of the investigation and to remove any appearance of undue influence or impropriety,” the senator said.
She said the gravity of the allegations required an impartial inquiry free from any suspicion of interference.
She also pointed to conflicting accounts surrounding the presence of NBI personnel near the Senate. She said claims that NBI agents were only at the Sequoia Hotel for a fellowship appeared to contradict reports that NBI personnel were seen inside or near the Senate premises on the day of the shooting.
“These conflicting accounts make it all the more important that the investigation proceed free from any perceived interference,” she said.
Marcos earlier said an alleged NBI confidential agent was arrested hours after gunshots were heard inside the Senate building.
According to the senator, the agent was apprehended after retrieving a tactical bag that had been left at the staircase on the second floor of the Senate, where the gunshots were reportedly heard.
Marcos did not name the arrested individual, but said the person allegedly identified Bomediano as the NBI official who ordered the supposed operation to arrest Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
“Ngayon ang tao na nahuli, pinangalanan yung NBI boss niya na si Atty. Bomediano ng NBI Transnational Crimes. Kung sino man siya, siya raw yung nag-order sa kanila na lusubin yung Senado, na dakpin si Sen. Bato, ano man ang mangyari, sinuman ang masaktan,” Marcos said.
The senator said the arrested person claimed that Bomediano allegedly ordered the group to storm the Senate and arrest Dela Rosa “at all cost.”
NBI Director Matibag had earlier denied that the bureau deployed agents to the Senate.