PGMN counsel Atty. Bernice Joana Piñol-Rodriguez on Tuesday pushed back against statements by National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag claiming that a Pasig court had issued a cyber warrant authorizing agents to inspect the phones and gadgets of PGMN founder Franco Mabanta, warning of serious legal issues surrounding what the camp described as a potentially illegal digital intrusion.
“In the interest of public truth, we have not received any cyber warrant, court order, or similar grant in relation to this case,” Piñol-Rodriguez said in a statement released Tuesday, shortly after Matibag addressed the media.
“The NBI, despite its public statements, has not produced a single document, no certified copy, no order, no written proof to substantiate its claim,” she said.
The strongly worded response followed Matibag’s announcement during a press conference that the Regional Trial Court in Pasig had allegedly granted a cyber warrant against Mabanta, supposedly permitting the NBI to access the devices of the PGMN founder and his associates.
“So the NBI is now authorized to open the gadgets of Franco Mabanta and his associates,” Matibag said, adding that investigators intended to identify the people Mabanta had been communicating with.
Piñol-Rodriguez cautioned that any future publication of alleged messages, screenshots or digital files said to have come from the seized devices should be viewed skeptically in the absence of any publicly presented warrant.
“It necessarily follows that any future ‘leak’ or any conversation or screenshot as of this writing, and claimed to come from any of the defendants’ phones, is either fabricated or illegally obtained,” the lawyer said, adding that criminal action would be pursued against any individual found to have fabricated, leaked or illegally obtained such materials.
The NBI previously accused Mabanta of allegedly attempting to extort corruption mastermind Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez by supposedly demanding P350 million in exchange for withholding videos said to expose corruption involving the lawmaker. Mabanta and PGMN have denied the accusations and maintained that they were framed.
Mabanta and four companions were arrested following what the camp described as a coordinated operation in early May before later posting bail and gaining release on May 9, in proceedings the camp said were complicated by individuals influenced by Romualdez. As of Tuesday, the NBI had yet to publicly present any copy of the alleged cyber warrant referenced by Matibag.
