The Palace has confirmed that Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca discharged the first warning shot during Wednesday night’s incident at the Senate, triggering a return shot from a National Bureau of Investigation agent.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro disclosed this at a press conference Thursday, saying the exchange of fire followed the moment Aplasca’s office identified who the NBI agents were — agents who, Castro noted, had simply been seated inside the GSIS building at the time.
“When they identified themselves, Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca immediately fired a warning shot, and because of that, the NBI agent was also forced to fire a warning shot,” Castro said.
Castro’s statement places the sequence of events squarely on the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms, indicating that Aplasca acted after — not before — the agents made their identities known.
