NBI to Cayetano: Insults replace facts when position is indefensible

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Sunday shrugged off Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s remarks against its Director Melvin Matibag, stating that “a position that cannot be defended with facts is often defended with insults.” The senator’s description comes after the bureau reopened its investigation into the alleged anomalous procurements in the 2019 Southeast Asian (Sea) Games. This investigation might put Cayetano in hot water as he chaired the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee during the country’s hosting of the event. In a statement, the NBI said it has “taken note” of Cayetano’s remarks against Matibag. “No one in the Bureau will take offense at the label, nor will it be answered in kind,” the NBI said in a statement. “The Bureau’s work rests on evidence, on documents, and on the law — and none of these is moved by name-calling,” it maintained. According to the NBI, Matibag answers only to the public’s interest. It also stressed that the sole reason the inquiry into the financing of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games was opened was due to billions in public funds appearing to have been disbursed outside the ordinary safeguards of competitive bidding and government audit. “It bears noting that the loudest objections to an audit seldom come from those with nothing to account for,” the NBI said. “When a position cannot be defended with facts, it is often defended with insults. The Bureau reads the Senator’s choice of words in exactly that light – and proceeds undeterred,” it emphasized. The NBI then underscored that the inquiry into the Sea Games was “impartial, evidence-based and grounded squarely in its mandate under the law.” The agency is calling on anyone who has knowledge of the matter, including Cayetano himself, to bring evidence to the bureau directly, “not to a livestream.” “Director Matibag will continue to do the work the Filipino people expect of him. He may be called many things. Beholden will never be one of them,” the NBI said.