Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano called out NBI Director Melvin Matibag after the NBI chief reportedly said he would wait for a subpoena before appearing before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee over a claim linking former congressman Mike Defensor to an alleged bribery attempt involving the 18 former Marines in the flood-control anomaly probe.
The issue began after a breaking report was read during the hearing claiming that Matibag revealed the NBI had received information that Defensor allegedly offered ₱5 million in relation to the former Marines’ testimony on alleged flood-control anomalies. Matibag reportedly said the information came from an individual with direct ties to one of the supposed former Marines. He also said the NBI had already issued a subpoena for Defensor to answer the allegation.
Cayetano invited Matibag to personally appear before the committee, or send the NBI agent who handled the information, so the claim could be tested under oath before Defensor and the 18 former Marines. He said that if Matibag’s information was verified, the NBI director should be ready to explain why there was reasonable ground to believe the source of the claim.
Cayetano later manifested that Matibag had already responded and said he would wait for a subpoena. The Senate President rejected that position, saying Matibag should not wait for a subpoena because the matter was simple.
“Matibag should not wait for a subpoena. This is a very simple matter. When an NBI director releases information while a Senate hearing is ongoing, that is alarming.”
Cayetano’s challenge placed Matibag’s role directly under scrutiny because the NBI chief’s reported claim came while senators were already hearing sworn testimony on alleged cash movements, kickbacks and corruption tied to flood-control funds. The Senate President said the matter had to be addressed openly before the committee instead of being left as an outside allegation.
The invitation carries added weight because Matibag has already faced serious credibility attacks from PGMN over his public handling of the extortion allegations against PGMN CEO and Founder Franco Mabanta. PGMN has accused Matibag of repeatedly making false or unsupported claims in media, including his statement that around 200 people had supposedly reached out to him claiming Mabanta extorted money from them.
For PGMN, that history makes Matibag’s latest claim even more important to test under oath. If the NBI has real evidence, Matibag should present it before the Senate. If the information is weak, unverified, or politically useful but unsupported, then the public deserves to know before another major allegation is allowed to distort the flood-control investigation.
Cayetano’s call now puts the burden on Matibag to personally face the Senate, explain exactly what the NBI received, identify how the information was handled, and show whether the claim can survive questioning under oath.
