NBI chief Matibag to Cayetano: Face me at ‘proper’ hearing
National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag on Friday challenged Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to face him at the next hearing of the “proper” Senate blue ribbon committee that’s investigating the flood control scandal.
“Alan Peter Cayetano is still a member of the Senate. If he wants to face me and question me, he should attend the hearing on Monday. I will be there,” Matibag said.
READ: Cayetano dares Matibag to attend blue ribbon hearing
READ: Cayetano bloc defies new majority, holds hearing
“You can ask every question that you have for me, even my favorite color,” he said during a roundtable discussion with Inquirer editors and reporters.
Cayetano and several of his Senate allies called 18 former Marines to a hearing on Thursday where the men repeated an earlier claim that they delivered hundreds of millions of pesos from former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co allegedly to President Marcos, former Speaker Martin Romualdez and other politicians.
The legality of the hearing has been questioned following the Senate leadership shake-up on June 3 when a new majority comprising 12 senators elected Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian the Senate president pro tempore and as acting Senate president. They declared all seats in the chamber, including the Senate
Sen. Erwin Tulfo took over as chair of the blue ribbon committee, replacing Cayetano’s sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano.
Matibag said he received a “valid invitation by the proper blue ribbon committee” to Monday’s hearing.
“I will attend, there’s no problem,” he said.
The rift between Cayetano and Matibag flared on May 11 when NBI agents tried to serve an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, one of the senator’s close allies. Dela Rosa evaded the arrest and has gone into hiding again after being absent from the Senate for six months.
The animosity heightened after multiple shots were fired inside the Senate building on May 13. An angry Cayetano said the Senate was “under attack” and pointed fingers at NBI agents. No one was injured in the incident.
READ: More ICC warrants may be issued within a month, NBI chief says
A police investigation later disputed his account, saying the Senate’s chief security officer fired first and that most of the shots came from his men.
Hours after the shooting, Dela Rosa, aided by Sen. Robinhood Padilla, escaped from the Senate’s “protective custody,” investigators said. Dela Rosa has been declared a fugitive by the Department of Justice.
Cayetano excused Dela Rosa’s move to sneak out of the Senate, saying the former national police chief accused of crimes against humanity was free to leave any time.
Just like a birthday invite
Matibag said Cayetano did not keep his part of an agreement to hold Dela Rosa in custody and to turn him over to the authorities when the time comes to turn him over. For their part, the NBI will not set foot in the Senate without Cayetano’s permission, he said.
“That was our man to man agreement. I respected that,” he said.
During the Cayetano-led hearing, the former Senate president dared Matibag to appear before the committee to present evidence against claims made by the ex-Marines.
READ: ‘On Senate records, nothing happened’ – Drilon on Cayetano bloc hearing
Matibag rejected the manner he was invited. “Senator Alan’s statement may sound fine in a barbershop or a noodle house. But if we are going to talk about legal matters, that’s not how it’s supposed to be done,” he said.
When asked whether he would attend if Cayetano formally invited him, he said he would still reject that. “They’re not the legitimate blue ribbon committee, so I will not be appearing,” he said.
Matibag, 55, also lamented the outcome of the Senate leadership change, seeing that Cayetano refused to give up his seat despite a vote by the new majority to declare it vacant.
“He is the only one who recognizes himself as the Senate president,” Matibag said.
No new Senate president, however, has been elected since that would require at least 13 votes in accordance with the Constitutional requirement.
Former party exec
Speaking as a lawyer and a former secretary general of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party, Matibag said the June 3 change in Senate leadership was legitimate.
“Legally, as I said, the status quo right now is the recognized acting Senate President is Win Gatchalian and technically the blue ribbon committee is not headed by Pia Cayetano but by Erwin,” he said.
Matibag said that aside from his job as the NBI chief, he has been a keen observer of political developments as a former politician married to a three-term member of the House of Representatives.
He said he grew up in a very political atmosphere, raised by parents who were both election officers.
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