Mel Oragon, the 44-year-old volunteer driver linked to last week’s gunfire at the Philippine Senate complex in Pasay City, has tested positive for gunpowder residue, according to the Southern Police District.
“Base sa result, positive po sa presence ng gunpowder yung alleged NBI driver,” SPD Public Information Office chief Police Lt. Margaret Panaga said in a message to GMA News.
Oragon is facing a slew of charges for the incident on May 13, including five violations of the Revised Penal Code: alarm and scandal, tumultuous disturbance of public order, resistance and disobedience to a person in authority or agents of such person, disturbance of proceedings, and direct assault. He was also charged for violating the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and for trespass to property and violations of Senate security regulations.
Though no firearm was recovered from Oragon at the time of his arrest, authorities seized live M16 ammunition and magazines from him, along with a blue jacket and polo shirt bearing NBI markings and an NBI badge.
According to a spot report, Oragon fired several gunshots inside the Senate building using a firearm of undetermined caliber before being subdued by members of the Senate Security Detachment assigned within the premises. Investigators have since recovered bullet casings from a 5.56 caliber rifle and a 9mm caliber handgun at the scene.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said Oragon is not an official employee of the NBI but a “volunteer.” “Kasama siya nag-assist sa NBI agents doon sa GSIS (building),” he said. Matibag added that Oragon had been serving as a driver for agents deployed to the Government Service Insurance System building in Pasay at the request of GSIS president Wick Veloso, and that he was merely retrieving a tactical bag containing a gun, a magazine, and clothes when he was arrested.
Matibag also claimed police “did not attach” the results of the paraffin test conducted on the driver. The National Capital Region Police Office, however, confirmed that Oragon tested positive for gunpowder nitrates.
The NBI chief argued that, at the very least, Oragon could only be charged for tampering with evidence because he retrieved the tactical bag. Oragon’s lawyer and wife have maintained that he was only a driver for one of the NBI operatives and not a regular agency employee.
The shooting took place on the evening of May 13 during a tense Senate lockdown, as NBI agents and former senator Antonio Trillanes had come to the chamber to serve an ICC arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald dela Rosa. Hours after the incident, President Marcos denied that the government was behind the ruckus, saying no NBI agent was on the Senate grounds and there was no instruction for them to arrest Dela Rosa.
