PNP finalizing security preps for Sara Duterte impeachment trial

FIRST SHOTS A Palace briefing on Tuesday presented this and other screengrabs from the security videos gathered by the PNP from the Senate building as it investigated the May 13 shooting incident. The PNP has turned over its initial findings to a panel formed by the Justice Department and the Ombudsman for possible filing of charges. —IMAGE FROM MALACAÑANG

MANILA, Philippines — A special panel of Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors on Wednesday said that contrary to the claim of former Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, the chamber was “not under attack” on May 13 when Senate security personnel traded warning shots with National Bureau of Investigation agents.

This was among the preliminary findings of the DOJ panel, which is trying to determine if the shooting and the ensuing chaos were part of an “orchestrated” scheme to facilitate the escape of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.

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Not justified

Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said that based on evidence coming from the police and media, the panel determined that the Senate was not under attack on May 13 and the actions taken by the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms against NBI agents were “not justified.”

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The DOJ prosecutors also said that individuals who helped Dela Rosa escape from the Senate in the early hours of May 14 may be held liable for obstruction of justice. Vida, however, refused to identify the number of individuals who may be charged, as the investigation is still ongoing.

“Not yet. Based on the initial findings coming out, many of the personalities involved are public officials,” he said.

READ: CIDG: Padilla helped Dela Rosa escape, liable for ‘obstruction’

“What I can assure the public is that the department will pursue the matter professionally, objectively, and without fear or favor,” Vida added.

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“No individual is above the law, but equally important, no person should be judged before the evidence has been fully examined,” he said.

After six months in hiding, Dela Rosa, who has been ordered arrested by the International Criminal Court for his role in the Duterte drug war, appeared in the Senate on May 11 to vote for Cayetano as Senate president. The Senate later placed him under its protective custody.

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Part of grand plan

The DOJ panel is also trying to determine whether the sniper shots fired from the fifth floor of the Senate building allegedly targeting an NBI vehicle were part of an “orchestrated plan” to help Dela Rosa escape.

The information about the supposed attack on an NBI vehicle came from the media and the NBI itself, Vida said.

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“We are looking at it in a general sense … on whether it was planned and was part of a grand plan. When they placed (Dela Rosa) in protective custody, was it part of the plan? When they said the (Senate) was under attack or when it imposed a lockdown … all of these would be weighed to determine whether they are part of what could be obstruction of justice,” he told reporters. —WITH A REPORT FROM TETCH TORRES-TUPAS