Senate Officer Admits Firing Warning Shot
Acting chief of the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) Mao Aplasca explained on Friday, May 15, the firing of a warning shot during the shooting incident on May 13, 2026, inside the Senate building in Pasay City.
Aplasca admitted that he himself fired the warning shot after seeing armed individuals who were allegedly personnel of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) within the Senate's jurisdiction. He stated that a warning shot is performed when there is an imminent threat.
According to Aplasca, they asked the armed individuals to identify themselves and to set down their weapons, but they did not respond. He further claimed that the NBI had not coordinated with them prior to the operation.
Aplasca clarified that he fired only once, and based on his experience, a warning shot should not be repeated.
When asked why the media and other civilians in the area were not completely evacuated before the confrontation, Aplasca said that ideally it should have been done, but they had limited time to act.
Aplasca, a retired police major general, previously served as Senate Sergeant-at-Arms from July 2025 to February 2026, and also served as Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives from 2020 to 2021.
