PH Senate security chief suspended after shooting incident, Senator Dela Rosa's 'departure'

The Philippines anti-graft chief has ordered a six-month suspension of the head of Senate security following a chaotic shootout inside the upper chamber on Wednesday that later led to the "escape" of a politician wanted by the International Criminal Court.

"It's a preventive suspension meant to make things easier for us to get to the bottom of this," Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla told a news conference on Friday.

"We can't ignore something of this magnitude," he said, adding that the suspension of Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca took effect on Friday.

Aplasca did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Troops were deployed to the building after Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who served as President Rodrigo Duterte's top enforcer in his brutal "war on drugs", urged his supporters to mobilise and thwart his imminent arrest on a warrant issued by the ICC.

Aplasca has admitted he first fired a warning shot during a standoff with National Bureau of Investigation agents inside the Senate building.

"He was the first to fire. Do you fire at law enforcement? We do not tolerate that," Remulla said. "What right does he have to do that? Not even the President will do that."

Dela Rosa, who had been taking refuge at the Senate since Monday, has now moved to a different location after what his wife described as an "escape" before dawn on Thursday.

"Flight is an indication of guilt, right? That's a very basic tenet of criminal law. Flight is an indication of guilt," Remulla said.

"Is that how our senators should be, someone who runs from the law? He should be held accountable. He should just face the accusations and respond properly if he really has done nothing wrong."

President ‌Ferdinand Marcos Jr earlier called for calm and said no government personnel were involved in the incident. The Senate and law enforcement agencies said an investigation into the shootout is underway.

Under the Philippine Constitution and the Ombudsman Act, the Ombudsman has the authority to discipline public officials and may impose preventive suspension to ensure impartiality during investigations.

-Reporting by Nestor Corrales; Editing by David Stanway/Reuters