MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) on Saturday denied reports circulating on social media that there was no CCTV footage of the shooting incident involving Senate security personnel and operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) earlier this week.
In a statement, the OSAA said the Senate’s CCTV system was “fully operational” during the incident that occurred on the second floor of the Senate building on May 13.
“The Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms strongly denies the false and misleading information circulating on social media platforms and being reported by certain news agencies claiming that there was no available CCTV footage covering the 2nd Floor of the Senate Building,” the statement read.
The OSAA said that the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group requested copies of the CCTV footage on May 14 through a letter signed by Colonel John K. Guiagui.
The Senate security office said it immediately complied with the request .
“The extraction and turnover of the CCTV recordings were conducted with the participation and technical coordination of authorized PNP personnel,” the OSAA stated.
The police issued receipts and certifications that the recordings were “authentic, original, unaltered, and directly obtained from the official Senate CCTV system.”
The said these records directly contradict allegations that no footage was available to investigators.
“The spread and publication of unverified and inaccurate information only serve to mislead the public and unnecessarily undermine the integrity of the ongoing investigative process,” the OSAA said.
The statement was signed by Acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms PMGen. Ma. O. R. Aplasca (Ret.), who reiterated the office’s commitment to transparency and cooperation with legitimate investigative bodies.
The OSAA also urged the public and media organizations to exercise responsibility in reporting developments related to the case and to rely on verified information released by authorized government sources.
The Senate has yet to release further details regarding the status of the investigation or whether criminal or administrative charges may be filed in connection with the incident.