The Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered three sisters behind one of the country’s oldest educational publishing firms to respond to criminal complaints alleging a multi-billion-peso fraud scheme.

In a subpoena dated 19 March 2026, Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Joselito C. Bacolor of the Quezon City Office of the City Prosecutor ordered Nila Vibal Mata, along with her sisters Aida Vibal Gutierrez and Stella Vibal Lawson, to file their counter-affidavits on 16 April and 30 April. 

The directive stems from a syndicated estafa complaint lodged by reinstated Vibal Group, Inc. chief executive officer Maria Kristine E. Mandigma.

Prosecutors said motions to dismiss would not be entertained at this stage, warning that failure to submit counter-affidavits would be treated as a waiver of the respondents’ right to present evidence.

The three siblings, who collectively control a majority stake in the Quezon City-based publishing group and its affiliates LG&M Corporation and SD Publications, Inc., have yet to issue public statements on the allegations.

Mandigma’s complaint names a total of 14 respondents, including former finance officers and accounting staff, and accuses them of 458 counts of syndicated estafa and obstruction of justice.

Filed on 26 February, the complaint underwent the DOJ’s Case Build-Up (CBU) process—a preliminary review reserved for complex or high-stakes cases—before prosecutors proceeded with a formal investigation. Syndicated estafa is classified as a non-bailable offense punishable by life imprisonment.

The complaint alleges that from at least 1997 to 2014, company funds were systematically diverted into personal accounts through fabricated supplier invoices. Documents reportedly recovered from corporate storage in April 2025 allegedly show the use of shell suppliers, with checks issued not to legitimate vendors but to personal and joint accounts of the late Vibal matriarch, Esther A. Vibal, and Mata.

Among the transactions cited, Lamco Paper Products Co., Inc. allegedly recorded more than P2 billion in purported paper purchases between 2003 and 2014. 

An additional P572.8 million in disbursements from at least 16 other suppliers were also flagged as fictitious, with funds similarly traced to personal accounts.

The complaint further claims the scheme was concealed through off-books “generic vouchers,” manipulated audit entries, and alleged payments to Bureau of Internal Revenue examiners to avoid scrutiny.

Mandigma filed the criminal complaint shortly after her reinstatement as CEO, following a January 29, 2026, ruling by the National Labor Relations Commission that found she had been illegally dismissed months earlier.

The DOJ case runs parallel to a separate proceeding before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which in February ordered the same respondents to answer allegations of corporate fraud, falsification of records, and breach of fiduciary duty.

The twin proceedings place the decades-old publishing house—whose textbooks have long been staples in Philippine classrooms—under intensifying legal and regulatory scrutiny.