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Personnel of the Philippine Marine Corps deployed during the gunfire incident at the Senate premises on May 13 tested negative for gunpowder residue, the Philippine Navy said Tuesday.
“I learned from the Philippine Marine Corps that none of them fired their weapons,” Philippine Navy spokesperson Capt. Marissa Martinez said in a briefing.
“Secondly, they tested negative on the paraffin test. These are indicators that they did not directly participate in the shooting incident,” she added.
The Marines were positioned at the perimeter of the Senate as part of a security and escort deployment under instructions from the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA).
No Marine personnel involved in the deployment were reprimanded, as they properly carried out their assigned duties, according to Martinez.
The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) said a total of 44 fired cartridge cases were recovered from the crime scene, including 36 inside the Senate premises and eight outside near the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) bridgeway.
Four firearms were involved in the exchange of gunfire, according to official reports.
Ballistics examination showed that 26 cartridge cases came from a 9mm pistol used by suspended Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca. Nine were from a .40-caliber firearm, and four from another 9mm weapon used by two other OSAA personnel.
Five cartridge cases were traced to a 5.56 rifle used by a National Bureau of Investigation agent.
The CIDG earlier said it is recommending the filing of charges against Aplasca and two other Senate security personnel for alleged violations of the Private Security Services Industry Act, according to the bureau.—MCG, GMA News