Office of the Ombudsman confirms Senate secretariat has received preventive suspension order...

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]The blame for last Wednesday's shootout inside the Senate and the chaos which ensued thereafter should squarely fall on Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, [music] former Police Major General Mao Apascal, who fired the first shot in his encounter with the NBI. Thus, a preventive suspension was ordered by the Ombudsman to include a subpoena for all CCTV footages in and out [music] of the Senate, which the Senate officially received earlier today, as our Cleizl Pardilla reports.

[00:00:33]The office of the Ombudsman confirmed that the Senate Secretariat has already received the order of preventive suspension against acting Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Apascal.

[00:00:44]This came after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced the agency's decision to suspend Apascal following the shooting incident at the Senate last week. Apascal earlier admitted that he was the first to fire his gun that night. He explained that it was only a warning shot. The shooting incident caused fear among those inside the Senate, including members of the media.

[00:01:08]According to Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, personnel from the office of the Ombudsman served a suspension order.

[00:01:16]He said this also included a subpoena issued by the agency for the Senate CCTV footage following the shooting incident.

[00:01:24]The suspension will last for 6 months without pay amid the agency's investigation on the shooting incident at the upper chamber. It's a preventive suspension meant to to make things easier for us to to get to the bottom of things.

[00:01:49]emphasized that the subpoena issued by their office was not accepted. Despite this, it should still be considered served.

[00:01:58]Remulla stressed that what happened was unacceptable in an institution created by the Constitution.

[00:02:05]Curly Zaldivar Dilya from the National TV Network for a new and better Philippines.