When are warning shots allowed?
On the night of May 13, personnel from the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms at the Senate fired 27 warning shots inside the building in an apparent attempt to scare off what OSAA head Mon Aplasca said were armed agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.
The shooting happened past 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, aggravating the already tense situation in the Senate premises. Sen. Bato Dela Rosa, who was under Senate protective custody since May 11, was in the building with several other Senate majority members, including Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.
Personnel from the NBI had been in the Senate compound since Monday carrying an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
According to Aplasca, he verified the presence of armed NBI agents in the building and sought to convince them to stand down. After giving a verbal warning and asking the individuals to lower their weapons, the agents allegedly further raised their guns.
"Kaya nagpaputok kami ng warning shot," Aplasca told GMA's 24 Oras.
The scale of the response immediately drew scrutiny over whether the OSAA’s actions were a proportionate response to the NBI's presence.
When is it allowed
Gen. Nicolas Torre III, former chief of the Philippine National Police, said that warning shots are prohibited, but also acknowledged that the Rules of Engagement of the PNP may be different from that of OSAA's.
According to the Revised Philippine National Police Operational Procedures, a warning shot is only allowed if "lives, including the police officer's, are in imminent danger; if the threat of death or injury is real and imminent; and if the police officer is "outnumbered and overpowered."
"Sa Rules of Engagement ng PNP, bawal ang warning shot," Torre said in an interview with One PH on May 15.
Torre explained that the number one priority is everyone's safety, including the suspect's or subject of the operation.
"May contingencies palagi yan. At palaging unang unang kinoconsider diyan is safety ng lahat," he said.
In a Facebook post, veteran broadcast journalist Ed Lingao quoted Section 2-5 of the Revised Philippine National Police Operational Procedures, which confirmed Torre's statement.
"This is, of course, the manual for policemen. But the same applies most especially for security people—you do not discharge your firearm upon mere sighting of another armed man, even if that man is in what you believe to be your jurisdiction. Moreso if that man may be a law enforcer," wrote Lingao.
Lingao offered the manual's perspective: "The protocol is to challenge the other person, order him to stand down, and possibly disarm him. The protocol does not allow for a steady discharge of bullets at the sight of a stranger as a means to scare of an intruder; these are not pebbles you throw at a window," wrote Lingao.
On Aplasca's judgement
While many are questioning whether Aplasca’s actions were appropriate, Torre said he respects Aplasca judgement and that believes the decision was a strategic choice based on the immediate reality of the situation.
"Sa tingin niya, at nirerespeto ko rin ang onsite judgement ni Gen. Aplasca, alam niya kung ano ang danger at kung papaano i-deescalate kaagad," he said.
"Now kung sa tingin niya, sa panahong iyon, ipakita na kaagad na desidido na gumamit ng kanyang pwersa kung kinakailangan, kaya siguro nag warning shot siya na i-communicate sa kabila na 'Uy, wag kayo lumaban,'" he continued. "'Yun ang nakita niyang diskarte."
Meanwhile, during an interview on Ted Failon at DJ Chacha sa True FM, Failon questioned Aplasca’s justification for firing warning shots by citing the PNP manual. The manual, specifically Section 2.11, states that warning shots are permitted when the police are "outnumbered and overpowered."
Failon pointed out that footage showed the police significantly outnumbered the other party, especially since Aplasca himself claimed to have seen only two or three armed NBI agents. Highlighting this, he told Aplasca, "Nakita po namin kung gaano kayo karami."
In response, Aplasca dismissed the manual's specific criteria, arguing instead that a warning shot is justified whenever there is a "perceive[d] danger" to the lives of the officers.
"Mali po, Ted. Iko-correct ko lang 'yung inyong sinasabi. Ang warning shot ginagawa po namin 'pag meron po kaming na-perceive na danger sa buhay ng ating mga kapulisan," Aplasca, the former PNP chief of directorate for operations, said.
He insisted that since he is no longer with the PNP, he couldn't reconcile police procedures with his current work, saying that during his time in the police force, he understood the rules differently.
Staged?
Dela Rosa was believed to be in Cayetano's office the night of the incident. Other members of the Senate majority were also in the building for a caucus. As shots rang out, Cayetano went on Facebook Live claiming the Senate was "under attack."
However, speculations have circulated that the warning shots were merely a diversionary tactic; a rumor made stronger upon the confirmation of a member of the Senate secretariat that Dela Rosa had left the Senate building around 2:30 a.m. on May 14, just hours after the shooting.
Aplasca denied this.
"Mahirap yata sabihin na staged 'yung nangyari dito dahil hindi ko naman puwedeng i-stage 'yun," Aplasca said. "Wala naman kaming control sa mga NBI agents. Kung hindi sila dumating dito, wala pong mangyayaring barilan, putukan kung wala sila dito sa premises ng Senate."
