MANILA – The driver linked to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) team involved in the recent shooting incident near the Senate complex did not fire any weapon during the incident, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said.

In a media report, Matibag clarified in an ambush interview that the individual arrested was a driver assigned to NBI agent Rick Espino and served as a “force multiplier or volunteer asset of the bureau.”

“He was the one who drove the NBI team going to GSIS,” Matibag said.

Matibag said video footage from body-worn cameras and media recordings showed the driver at the fifth floor of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building without any firearm during the incident, which occurred on the second floor of the Senate building.

The Senate is located within a rented space inside the GSIS complex, with both buildings sharing access points on the second floor.

“Wala siyang hawak na baril. Vest ang hawak niya at saka radyo,” he said.

(He wasn’t holding a gun. He was holding a vest and a radio.)

Paraffin test findings

Matibag said the driver later went down to the second floor of the Senate premises to retrieve a bag left by a companion, but was apprehended before reaching it.

He was then brought inside Senate premises and ordered to lie face down on the floor, which the NBI said may explain the positive result of his paraffin test for gunpowder residue.

Matibag explained that such residue may be transferred through contact with surfaces exposed to firearms discharge.

The driver was charged before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office but was later released after posting bail on Monday.

Matibag also said authorities recovered a .40 caliber and a 5.56 caliber firearm, which he described as standard-issue weapons of the NBI.

“Hindi M16,” he added.

(Not an M16.)

Investigation ongoing

Matibag said the firearm used by the NBI agent who discharged shots inside the GSIS building has been turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for ballistic examination.

He maintained that no NBI agent was inside the Senate building itself, clarifying that the incident occurred in the GSIS premises.

The Office of the Ombudsman has formed a panel to investigate the incident, with the NBI submitting initial findings but open to providing additional reports.

The driver was arrested after multiple gunshots were heard inside the Senate complex last Wednesday night.

He was identified in a police report under the alias “Mel Oragon,” a 44-year-old Filipino male employed as an NBI driver.

Malacañang earlier said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and retired Police Major General Mao Aplasca fired the first warning shot during the incident.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said personnel from the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms fired 27 shots, while an NBI agent fired five shots.

Aplasca said his personnel issued a verbal warning before shots were fired.