Mel Aragon, the NBI volunteer driver charged in the May 13 gunfire incident near the Senate and GSIS complex, denied firing any weapon despite testing positive for gunpowder residue, insisting video footage would show he never even carried a gun during the incident.
Aragon, 44, was temporarily released from the Pasay Police Detention Facility after posting ₱116,000 bail for charges of direct assault and violation of the firearms law. Shortly after midnight Tuesday, May 19, he appeared before the PNP-CIDG at NBI headquarters to give his official statement.
“Wala po, wala akong pinaputok na anumang uri ng baril. Simula no’ng pumunta kami hanggang nakabalik po ako [sa NBI]. May video po na magpapatunay na wala po akong baril,” Aragon told reporters.
The case has drawn attention because while police reports showed Aragon tested positive for gunpowder nitrates, authorities also confirmed no firearm was recovered from him, and investigators have not treated the residue result alone as proof that he fired a weapon.
Aragon said he has served as an NBI volunteer since 2016 and as an Army reservist since 2012. He acknowledged having firearm training and experience but maintained that carrying weapons was never part of his role during NBI operations.
He also disputed evidence allegedly tied to him, including a sling bag authorities said contained ammunition, a magazine, clothing and an NBI badge.
Aragon denied owning the bag and said he had only returned to the GSIS premises because he was instructed to retrieve a bag containing medicine that an NBI agent had allegedly left behind.
That claim has raised questions about why a volunteer driver was allegedly sent back into the compound after a chaotic security incident involving gunfire.
His lawyer, Atty. Paolo Nieto, said the defense is reviewing CCTV footage and witness accounts as they consider filing countercharges over what they described as a questionable or possibly illegal arrest conducted outside Senate grounds.
