Defensor, Matibag collide over NBI raid

Former representative Mike Defensor and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag clashed yesterday over a raid on a Pasig City nightclub linked to the ex-lawmaker’s wife and son.

Matibag on Saturday maintained that the raid was a legitimate law enforcement operation, dismissing claims that it was politically motivated.

Speaking at a news forum, Matibag said the operation at Chicago Nightclub was a “rescue and entrapment” mission conducted in coordination with the Pasig City government, following intelligence reports of the alleged sexual exploitation of women.

The NBI chief denied the Defensors’ allegation that the raid was a political attack and lamented that they were the ones bringing politics into the issue.

“I challenge Mike Defensor and his wife: let’s not bring politics into this, and don’t say that I dragged your family into this. You are the one who put your family in that kind of business,” Matibag said.

The NBI has filed complaints for human trafficking and drug violations against Julie and Miguel Defensor, the wife and son of Defensor, in connection with the raid.

Authorities alleged that Chicago Nightclub was engaged in the sex trade, with women reportedly brought to the Bleu Hotel, said to be connected to the club, where sexual services were allegedly carried out.

Matibag said Bleu Hotel is owned by Zerrin Development Corp., where Julie Defensor serves as chairperson and Miguel Defensor as treasurer.

He said that Chicago Nightclub has a lease agreement with the same company, noting that the NBI has in its possession a 2025 lease contract signed by Julie.

Under the Rules of Court, Matibag said, documentary evidence carries weight unless proven otherwise.

He said the records in the NBI’s possession were obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Pasig City government.

Matibag said the NBI was merely fulfilling its mandate.

“It is not the NBI’s fault that your wife and son were implicated because they were placed in that line of business where accountability is required,” he told Defensor.

Cliffpoint Development Corp., where Mike Defensor serves as chairperson, owns Cliffpoint Square, which has interlocking directors and officers with the nightclub.

Mike Defensor’s role as a prominent political critic and legal adversary of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. since late 2025 has led him to claim he is being targeted for persecution.

Defensor provided logistical support to a group of 18 individuals claiming to be former Marines who alleged they had delivered over P800 billion in kickbacks to government officials.

The NBI is examining whether there is sufficient evidence to include the former lawmaker in the complaints.

“We are looking into the ties between Cliffpoint Development Corporation and Defensor since there are interlocking relationships. If we have sufficient evidence to show that they are essentially one group operating as a single operation, we will not hesitate to include them,” Matibag said.

In an earlier statement, Julie Defensor denied any involvement in the nightclub’s operations, calling allegations linking her family to the case “a deliberate, dangerous, and desperate lie.”

She also accused the authorities of subjecting her family to a “relentless pattern of harassment” and political attacks, urging Matibag to stop dragging her and her son into the issue if he had grievances against her husband.

Former Congressman Defensor claimed the NBI raid was “politically motivated” and part of a larger political dispute.

He claimed it was the third time the NBI had conducted operations on businesses linked to him.

He clarified that his wife, Julie Rose, and their son, Miguel, were not involved in the operations of the establishment that was raided, as his family and other investors only owned the building leased to the business.

The NBI has filed charges of human trafficking and drug violations against Defensor’s wife and son.

26 face raps

Meanwhile, the NBI has recommended charges against 26 persons for violation of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, including the wife and son of Defensor, before the Pasig City Prosecutor’s Office.

Fifty-four women, some of them foreign nationals, were rescued during the raid and were turned over to the Pasig City Social Welfare and Development Office for assessment. Their sworn statements were taken with the agency’s consent.

According to the NBI, customers paid between P5,000 and P20,000 for sex, depending on the arrangement or the “classification of the women.”