Pia Cayetano: NBI's SEA Games probe meant to ‘intimidate, distract us’

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Pia Cayetano has accused National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag of intimidation, distracting them from their duties as senator-judges by bringing up plans to investigate the alleged irregularities in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games sports complex.

Her brother, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, was chairperson of the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc).

During the start of the sixth day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, Pia Cayetano made a manifestation and played a portion of the ambush interview with Matibag on Tuesday regarding the investigation into the sports complex, which he called “a big case.”

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READ: NBI probes funding ‘irregularities’ in 2019 SEA Games Clark complex

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After playing the video, Pia Cayetano questioned why Matibag already called the case big, asking, “Did he already investigate it?”

The senator-judge then argued that Matibag’s remark aims to “distract” and “intimidate” her and her brother from doing their job at the impeachment trial.

“What was the intention here? To distract the minority floor leader who is one of only two lawyers right now,” she said, referring to her brother.

READ: Cayetano defends SEA Games cauldron: It’s cheaper than Singapore’s

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“So, there are only two of us, so you want to distract him. So, I’ll just stand here. He can’t study anymore. Is that the intention? Because it is clearly the intention. The fact that he has to stand up, the fact that I have to stand up, the fact that Senator Robin has to stand up, he is distracting us from our job,” Pia Cayetano pointed out.

Cayetano also questioned if Matibag made the remark so that he will not be asked “tough” questions when he stands as a witness at the impeachment trial on Monday, July 20.

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“I do not know. But those statements, those actions, are not acceptable, possibly contemptible,” Cayetano emphasized.

“If that is not intimidation, I don’t know what is. If that is not intimidation, I don’t know what is. We are not sensitive. We are used to this, but we know when we are being targeted, right? We know that. We are not stupid,” she also said.

For his part, Alan Cayetano said that the private sector paid for the sports complex, noting that “there was no public money used.”

Matibag earlier this Wednesday said that the NBI already formed a task force to investigate the alleged irregularities in the sports complex.

The NBI director said this after noting during an ambush interview on Tuesday—which was the one played at the Senate—that they received information that around P10 billion was involved in the project without undergoing liquidation.

He said a Malaysian company built the complex used in the SEA Games, noting that “there was no bidding that took place, and the P10 billion was quickly paid through congressional insertion in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).”

The NBI director pointed out that the case is separate from the controversial cauldron in 2019’s SEA Games, which he said will be investigated again by the bureau.

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Alan Cayetano, as chair of Phisgoc, in 2019 defended the controversial P50-million stadium cauldron for the SEA Games, saying that it was cheaper than the one built by Singapore. /mr