Metro Manila, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) saw the possibility of an “armed group” storming the Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Win Gatchalian said, adding that there were indications the move could be connected to the 18 self-confessed bagmen involved in alleged flood control kickbacks.
In an online press conference on Wednesday, June 10, the acting Senate president disclosed more details about the security threat that prompted him to impose heightened security measures, including a work-from-home arrangement.
He said that on Monday, June 8, NBI Director Melvin Matibag relayed the information to senators present at the blue ribbon committee consultative meeting, which tackled the flood control corruption scandal.
“What he said is there’s a possibility of na merong manggugulo sa Senado. And it’s a possibility na armed group yung manggulo,” Gatchalian said.
[Translation: What he said is that there’s a possibility that someone may disrupt Senate operations. And there’s also the possibility that the group involved could be armed.]
While the NBI was not referring to the 18 alleged bagmen as the armed group, Gatchalian said the bureau indicated that “it might be connected to them.”
“So that’s why out of abundance of caution, we took these steps, yung work from home and heightened security measures para lang masigurado natin na hindi apektado yung mga empleyado [just to make sure that our employees are not affected],” he said.
Levito Baligod, lawyer for the 18 alleged bagmen, laughed off Gatchalian’s statement, saying in a social media post that Gatchalian and Matibag “are getting funnier.”
The 18 people claimed to be former bodyguards of former congressman Zaldy Co, who is in hiding due to arrest warrants issued in connection with the flood control scandal. They went to the Senate on Monday and held a press conference inside Senator Robin Padilla’s office but did not attend the blue ribbon committee proceedings.
The following day, Gatchalian announced the information about the security threat and the implementation of heightened security measures, stressing the need to protect Senate operations and records.
“If ever lang pasukin yung Senado, we just want to make sure that yung mga records natin intact, marami doon ay wealth of knowledge and discussions in the past. Marami rin doon mga executive session files na doon rin. So we just want to make sure na walang mawawalaan ng records. So again, abundance of caution lang talaga,” Gatchalian explained.
[Translation: If the Senate were ever breached, we just want to make sure that our records remain intact. Many of them contain a wealth of knowledge and records of past discussions. We also have executive session files stored there. We simply want to ensure that no records are lost. So again, this is purely out of an abundance of caution.]
The Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms is coordinating with intelligence offices and agencies.
Only a limited number of employees, including those in finance and administration, are allowed to enter Senate premises to ensure the uninterrupted release of salaries and continuity of operations.
Gatchalian said senators with official business would still be allowed entry, but he appealed to his colleagues to work remotely.
“I’m appealing to our senators and encouraging our senators to work from home na lang dahil nga of this security threat,” he said.
Asked whether the 18 alleged bagmen would be allowed to enter the Senate again, Gatchalian said he would first validate information with intelligence agencies before making a decision.
The group led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was scheduled to hold another hearing on the flood control scandal on Thursday. The first hearing was attended by the 18 men. However, the hearing was postponed to give way to government response efforts following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao.
In a statement, Cayetano questioned why the NBI had informed only select senators about the security threat.
“If the threat is credible, then every Senator, every member of the Secretariat, and every individual who works within these walls deserves to be informed and protected,” Cayetano said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Security is not the concern of one bloc. It is the concern of the entire Senate,” he added.
Asked about Cayetano’s remarks, Gatchalian said everyone had been informed through the memorandum he issued on Tuesday.
