Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) could have quietly investigated the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games instead of publicly announcing the probe days before NBI Director Melvin Matibag is set to testify before the impeachment court.
During the sixth day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial on July 15, 2026, Cayetano said he has no objection to any investigation but questioned the NBI’s decision to announce it instead of quietly gathering evidence first.
“Go ahead and investigate. First of all, that’s been investigated many, many times. He could have not announced it and (just) investigated. E ‘di imbestigahan mo. (Kung) tingin mo may mali, e ‘di imbestigahan mo,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano made the manifestation after fellow senator-judge Robinhood Padilla raised concerns over the NBI’s announcement during the impeachment trial.
He said his concern was not the investigation itself but the possible effect of publicly announcing it while the impeachment court is carrying out its constitutional duty.
“We have to make sure that the integrity of the court is intact. I hope this issue of the integrity of the court becomes an issue for all of us,” he said.
“Investigate whatever you want to investigate. You want to investigate kung bakit ako nagpatubo ng balbas, i-investigate mo, no problem with me. Pero huwag mo nang i-announce kasi nga naaapektuhan y’ung integrity ng [impeachment] court,” he added.
According to Cayetano, the SEA Games had already been scrutinized several times over the years, including by the Senate and the Office of the Ombudsman where he personally answered questions about the country’s hosting of the regional sporting event.
Calling the announcement a “misfire,” the senator-judge challenged Matibag’s remarks linking him to the infrastructure component of the SEA Games, saying the projects cited by the NBI were not handled by the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC), which he chaired.
“Bakit ko sinabing misfire? [It’s because] I had nothing to do with the infrastructure,” he said.
Defending the country’s hosting of the regional games, Cayetano said it brought pride to the Philippines and opened opportunities for Filipino athletes.
“The SEA Games gave us so much honor. So far, it is still the biggest SEA Games in history. Many of our athletes launched their careers, even going to gold medals in the Olympics,” he said.