Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday called on the Office of the Ombudsman to also place National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag under preventive suspension following the reported commotion and firing incident inside the Senate building on May 13.
Cayetano made the appeal as the Ombudsman moved to conduct an independent investigation into the incident, which drew national attention after reports of gunfire and tensions surrounding the possible arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
During his Facebook Live, Cayetano welcomed the Ombudsman’s decision to investigate the incident independently, but said the probe should also cover top NBI officials linked to the operation inside the Senate premises.
“I heard the Ombudsman will do an independent investigation, that is good news… Let me just appeal to the Ombudsman, suspend also the NBI Director because he is more a suspect than [Sergeant-at-Arms] Mao Aplasca,” Cayetano said.
The Senate President’s statement came amid increasing calls from lawmakers for accountability and clearer explanations regarding how the incident unfolded inside one of the country’s highest government institutions. Senator Imee Marcos had also earlier sought Matibag’s suspension in a letter addressed to her brother, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos.
