Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano disclosed Wednesday that certain senators had received an advance warning to leave the Senate building roughly an hour before gunshots were fired on the premises.
The warning, Cayetano said, came in at around 6:45 to 7 p.m. — preceding by about an hour the moment armed men allegedly entered the second floor and opened fire. At least 10 gunshots were heard by journalists present at the scene.
“Some senators got warning na umuwi na,” Cayetano told reporters in a chance interview, where he was joined by several colleagues and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
He said the warning puzzled those who received it. “Nagtataka kami what that meant. Sabi ko, please don’t believe that. The last thing anyone wants is yung gulo,” he added. Cayetano did not identify which senators had been alerted.
Separately, Cayetano said they also received information around that time that the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte were set to arrive at the Senate.
The initial reaction inside the chamber to the sounds of gunfire was confusion. “Akala ni Senator Villanueva, paputok, fireworks, and I even went to the window. Pinagalitan ako ng sister ko ‘you don’t do that’… and then tumawag ang OSAA,” Cayetano recounted.
Following the incident, Cayetano confirmed that all individuals present were safe and announced that a “no holds barred” investigation into the shooting would be carried out.
