PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. does not see the shooting incident in the Senate as an attack, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Monday, May 18, 2026.
“Senate siege? Was it under attack? It was not, the Senate was not under attack. We can see that from the news not only from the statement of the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and PNP (Philippine National Police (PNP),” Castro said in a press conference.
“It was only the statement made by Senator Alan Cayetano but as far as we are concerned, as far as the government is concerned, the Senate was never under attack,” she added.
Castro answered in affirmation when asked if it is the same position as Marcos.
She said Marcos also showed disappointment in the incident, which brought the country to foreign headlines.
The shooting in the Senate ensued after Senate Office of the Sergeant-at Arms head retired Major General Mao Aplasca fired “warning shots” against NBI agents who were deployed for the maintenance of peace and order in the GSIS building.
The Senate and GSIS buildings are separated only by a wall.
Majority senators were at the Senate building during the incident. Newly elected Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said in a video post that the Senate was under attack.
The tension arose amid the looming arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa who was placed under a protective custody of the Senate in relation to the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Hours after the tension, Dela Rosa left the Senate premises leading to speculations that the incident was staged, a matter vehemently denied by Cayetano. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)