A warning shot that sparked an exchange of gunfire with no clear threat
In the corridors of the Philippine Senate, a single warning shot fired by a security official set off a chain of events that now implicates the boundaries of institutional loyalty, international law, and the limits of protective authority. Mao Aplasca, the acting Senate sergeant-at-arms, discharged his weapon at NBI agents he believed posed a threat to Senator Ronald dela Rosa — a man already caught between a domestic sanctuary and an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. The Office of the Ombudsman has since suspended Aplasca for six months and subpoenaed CCTV footage, as the nation watches to see whether his actions were those of a guardian or an obstruction. What unfolds next may say as much about the Philippines' relationship with international accountability as it does about one man's split-second decision.
- Gunshots shattered the calm of the Senate's second floor just before 8 p.m., sending staff and journalists scrambling for cover in one of the country's most symbolically protected spaces.
- Aplasca's admission that he fired first — calling it a warning shot at NBI agents — immediately raised the question of whether a government official had used force to shield a senator from legitimate law enforcement.
- The tension deepened when it emerged that the NBI agents present that evening carried no ICC arrest warrant for Dela Rosa, undercutting the premise of the threat Aplasca claimed to be countering.
- The Ombudsman moved swiftly and visibly, dispatching personnel to the Senate to serve both a six-month suspension order and a subpoena for CCTV footage — signaling that accountability would not wait for the political dust to settle.
- Dela Rosa quietly slipped out of the Senate in the early hours of Thursday, ending his three-day protective custody just before the suspension was formally served, leaving the investigation to proceed in his absence.
On a Wednesday evening, the sound of gunfire broke through the Senate building's second floor hallway, scattering staff and journalists in a moment of sudden, disorienting fear. No one was struck, but the incident immediately set off a reckoning that would climb to the highest levels of government accountability.
Mao Aplasca, the acting Senate sergeant-at-arms, acknowledged firing the first shot — a warning, he said, directed at National Bureau of Investigation agents he believed were positioned near the building. That shot triggered a brief exchange of gunfire. His reasoning was rooted in the volatile situation already unfolding inside: Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa had been living under protective custody within the Senate for three days, sheltering from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued May 11 for alleged crimes against humanity tied to the Duterte administration's war on drugs. Dela Rosa had served as Davao City police chief under then-Mayor Duterte and later as PNP chief during the drug war's most intense years. His bid for a Supreme Court restraining order against the ICC warrant had been denied.
A critical detail complicated Aplasca's account: Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla reported that the NBI agents present that evening held no ICC arrest warrant for Dela Rosa. The gap between the threat Aplasca believed he faced and the legal authority the agents actually carried became the fault line at the center of the investigation.
The Office of the Ombudsman responded decisively. On Monday, its personnel arrived at the Senate to serve Aplasca with a six-month preventive suspension and to subpoena the building's CCTV footage — evidence that could reveal the precise sequence of movements and decisions in the moments before the shots were fired. In the early hours of Thursday, before the suspension was formally delivered, Dela Rosa departed the Senate, ending his three-day stay. The shooting, the suspension, and the senator's quiet exit together marked a dramatic turn in a case already drawing international scrutiny — and the footage, once reviewed, may finally answer what Aplasca truly saw, and whether it justified what he did.
On a Wednesday evening just before 7:46 p.m., gunshots erupted in a hallway on the second floor of the Senate building. Dozens of staff members and journalists scattered in panic, seeking cover as the sound of gunfire echoed through the chamber. When the shooting stopped, no one had been hit—but the incident would trigger a chain of consequences that reached into the highest levels of government accountability.
Mao Aplasca, the acting Senate sergeant-at-arms, admitted he had fired the first shot. He said it was a warning shot, discharged at National Bureau of Investigation agents he believed were positioned nearby. That initial shot, he explained, sparked the exchange of gunfire that followed. The NBI's presence at the Senate building was itself connected to a larger, more volatile situation: Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa was inside the chamber under protective custody, a status he had maintained for three days as international legal pressure mounted against him.
Dela Rosa faced an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on May 11, tied to alleged crimes against humanity connected to the Duterte administration's war on drugs. The senator had served as chief of the Davao City police under then-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte from 2013 to 2016, and later as Philippine National Police chief from 2016 to 2018, when the drug war intensified. Duterte himself had been arrested on March 12, 2025, and was being held in the Netherlands. Dela Rosa was named as an alleged co-perpetrator. He had sought a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court against the ICC warrant but was denied.
Yet there was a critical gap in the official account: Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla reported to the Senate that the NBI agents spotted near the building on Wednesday had no arrest warrant from the ICC for Dela Rosa at that time. This discrepancy—between the threat Aplasca believed he was facing and the actual legal authority the agents possessed—would become central to understanding what had happened in those seconds before the shots were fired.
On Monday, the Office of the Ombudsman moved swiftly. Ombudsman personnel arrived at the Senate to serve two documents: a six-month preventive suspension order against Aplasca, and a subpoena demanding the CCTV footage of the shooting. Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano confirmed that the Senate Secretariat received both. The video evidence would be crucial—it would show the sequence of events, the positioning of the agents, Aplasca's movements, and whether his characterization of the moment as a defensive action held up under scrutiny.
In the early hours of Thursday, before the Ombudsman's suspension was formally served, Dela Rosa abruptly left the Senate premises. His three-day stay under protective custody had ended. The shooting, the suspension, and the senator's departure marked a dramatic escalation in a case that had already drawn international attention. Now, as investigators reviewed the footage and the Ombudsman's office pursued its inquiry, the question of what Aplasca actually saw—and whether he had reasonable grounds to believe he was protecting the senator—remained unanswered.
Citas Notables
Aplasca admitted he fired the first shot, saying it was a warning shot against NBI agents in the vicinity— Acting Senate sergeant-at-arms Mao Aplasca
The NBI had no arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for Dela Rosa when its agents were spotted near the Senate building— Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla's report to the Senate
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would a Senate sergeant-at-arms fire a warning shot at agents who didn't have a warrant?
That's the core question. Aplasca says he was protecting Dela Rosa from what he perceived as a threat. But if the NBI didn't actually have legal authority to arrest the senator at that moment, was he acting on incomplete information, or was something else driving the decision?
So the CCTV footage is everything here.
It is. The video will show whether the agents were actually threatening, whether Aplasca had time to assess the situation, whether there was real danger or a misunderstanding that escalated into gunfire.
And Dela Rosa just left after the shooting?
He did, in the early morning hours. Three days of protective custody, a warning shot fired in his defense, and then he's gone. It suggests the Senate's ability to shield him had limits.
What does the six-month suspension mean for Aplasca?
It's a preventive measure while the investigation continues. It removes him from his position but doesn't prejudge the outcome. The Ombudsman is saying: we need to understand what happened before we decide if this was justified or reckless.
Is there any chance this was actually justified?
That depends on what the footage shows. If agents were moving toward Dela Rosa in a way that looked like an arrest attempt, Aplasca might have a defense. But the fact that they had no warrant complicates that argument significantly.