MANILA— Retired police major general Mao Ranada Aplasca on Wednesday submitted his counter-affidavit to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with a direct assault complaint stemming from the May 13 shooting incident at the Senate.

Reports noted that Justice spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez confirmed that Aplasca submitted the document during the third preliminary investigation hearing on the complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).

Aplasca arrived at the DOJ shortly after 1 p.m. but declined to comment to reporters about the proceedings.

Following the submission, the PNP-CIDG was given until Nov. 6 to file a reply-affidavit, Martinez said.

If the complainant submits a reply, Aplasca and his two co-respondents from the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) will have until Nov. 13 to file their rejoinder-affidavits.

The submission of the documents will allow the handling prosecutors to assess whether sufficient evidence exists to bring the case to court.

“And then the prosecutors will determine kung may prima facie evidence to file the case in court,” Martinez said.

Martinez said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents involved in the incident would serve as witnesses in the proceedings.

He added that the determination of liability would depend on the prosecutors’ assessment of the evidence and whether the facts establish the elements of direct assault.

“Depende na po iyan sa facts, sa appreciation ng mga piskal natin, ng mga prosecutors and if iyong facts na iyon, they satisfy the elements of the crime of direct assault,” Martinez said.

The complaint arose from the gunfire at the Senate on May 13, when Aplasca, then acting Senate sergeant-at-arms, fired a shot amid a security incident involving OSAA personnel and NBI agents stationed near the Senate-GSIS complex.

Aplasca previously maintained that he fired a “warning shot” because of the threat posed by unidentified armed individuals, arguing that his actions were consistent with the Senate Rules of Engagement for Threat Situations.

However, the Office of the Ombudsman rejected his justification in its administrative case, noting that the NBI agents had identified themselves before the shot was fired and were positioned along a hallway leading to the GSIS premises.

The Ombudsman also dismissed Aplasca’s claim that the incident was a continuation of the confrontation involving Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over his alleged involvement in the previous administration’s war on drugs.

In July, the Ombudsman ordered Aplasca’s dismissal from government service for grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty over the shooting incident.