By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan | Philippine News Agency
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Friday said authorities are now reviewing video materials obtained from members of the press as part of the investigation into Wednesday’s shooting incident inside the Senate premises.
Remulla said investigators are working on recovering and consolidating available recordings, including those captured by media personnel on the ground.
“We have footage from the press that we are studying,” he told reporters, adding that these materials are being analyzed alongside other evidence.
Remulla made the statement after Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca said no CCTV recordings were showing the movements of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and Marine personnel during the incident.
According to Remulla, they are “in the process of recovering” CCTV and other video recordings.
“We will have the final report ready by Wednesday,” he said, pertaining to the investigation.
In a press briefing, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson PBGen. Randulf Tuaño said available CCTV footage from inside and outside the Senate has already been turned over to the Anti-Cybercrime Group for preservation and analysis.
He added that media-recorded videos and other personal footage are also being requested by investigators, including the Pasay City Police and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), for use as potential evidence.
“All pieces of evidence, including the personal footage of our media colleagues and individual personnel, are included in the request… to be provided to our investigators for use as evidence,” Tuaño said.
Tuaño added that PNP Chief PGen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. is reviewing a 3D reconstruction of the scene prepared by the PNP Forensic Group, which includes bullet trajectories, shell casing locations, and other forensic findings. The results are still subject to final clearance before public release.
The incident in the Senate took place amid the protective custody given by the chamber to Senator Ronald dela Rosa, wanted by the International Criminal Court in connection with its investigation into human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, in the Philippines.
Tuaño also declined to comment on reports that Dela Rosa sought permission to stay at Camp Crame following the incident.
The ICC has confirmed that it has issued an arrest warrant against dela Rosa, who served as PNP chief during the previous administration.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday confirmed that dela Rosa is no longer in the Senate.
