MANILA: Justice Secretary Leila de Lima ordered an investigation into the arrest of six National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents over the election gun ban violation amid tension in the house of Senator Ramon Revilla Jr in Bacoor City in Cavite hours before the polls on Monday.
De Lima told reporters yesterday that she “immediately gave verbal instructions to NBI Director (Nonnatus) Rojas to probe the incident.”
Police said NBI agents Honor Santos, Efifanio Baria, Rosauro Estardo, Rizalos Ronario, Danilo Cruz, and Frederick Galvez were arrested for violating the gun ban.
But the camp of Revilla said that they requested the assistance of the NBI men after armed men “surrounded” the senator’s mansion and tried to set up a Commission on Elections checkpoint near the village hall in Barangay Panapaan VII around 11pm on Sunday.
In a memorandum, De Lima directed Rojas “to verify or confirm the actual involvement, including the basis and extent thereof, of NBI agents that resulted in the arrest of a number of them.”
She tasked the NBI official to “determine the proper sanctions, if any, that may be imposed against those who may be found accountable for the incident.”
De Lima said that she also met with the chief of the NBI Cavite district office and the leader of the arrested team yesterday morning. “Based on their narration and supporting documentary proofs, it would seem that the NBI team was actually engaged in a legitimate operation,” she said.
The Philippine Star
