Are warning shots allowed in security operations?
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.
'Bawal 'yan'
Gen. Nicolas Torre III, former chief of the Philippine National Police, confirmed that warning shots are prohibited.
"Buti na lang hindi siya pulis at [si Sir Mao] ay nasa Sergeant-at-Arms na at iba na ang kanyang Rules of Engagement. Kasi sa Rules of Engagement ng PNP, bawal ang warning shot," Torre said in an interview with One PH on May 15.
In a Facebook post, veteran broadcast journalist Ed Lingao quoted the Revised Philippine National Police Operational Procedures, which confirmed Torre's statement.
On page 13 of the manual, Section 2-5: Use of Firearm During Police Operations gives three instances when the use of a firearm is justified: 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."
"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.
On Ted Failon at DJ Chacha sa True FM, Failon presented the same manual to Aplasca.
"Ang sinasabi sa inyong manual sa pulisya na inyong kinalakihan, 'The police shall not use warning shots during police operation except when the police officer is outnumbered and overpowered,'" Failon read Alpasca an excerpt from Section 2.11 of the manual.
"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 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.
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.
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."
