Senator Alan Cayetano challenged the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Wednesday to “go ahead” with its investigation into the alleged anomalies in the 2019 SEA Games hosted by the Philippines and chiefly supervised by the lawmaker. 

Cayetano’s statement came on the heels of NBI Director Melvin Matibag’s announcement that the bureau revived the probe after receiving a tip alleging that billions of public funds earmarked for the SEA Games Sports Complex have yet to be properly liquidated. 

Cayetano chaired the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC), which oversaw the country’s hosting of the 30th SEAG in 2019, during the Duterte administration.

“Investigate whatever you want to investigate. You want to investigate why I grew a beard? Go ahead, no problem with me, but don't announce it anymore, because it affects the integrity of the court,” Cayetano said during the sixth day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. 

He, however, believed that it was a “misfire” because he claimed that there were no anomalies in the execution of the project and that the same was successfully carried out. 

The Taguig lawmaker argued that the NBI’s probe is politically motivated, adding that the ulterior motive was to further diminish the numbers of the minority bloc, who are known to be supportive of the VP. 

Senator Pia Cayetano quickly jumped to her brother’s defense, contending that the NBI’s investigation was designed to “distract” him from the trial and effectively weaken the position of the minority bloc. 

“There is no jurisdiction in the world that allows a judge to be pressured and intimidated,” she stressed.

“Those statements, those actions are not acceptable, possibly contemptible,” she added.

In the same vein, Senator Robin Padilla, also allied with the minority, pointed out that the timing of NBI’s announcement suggests nothing but a deliberate bid to undermine the proceedings by diminishing the participation of senator-judges. 

Padilla argued that the Senate impeachment court should be “independent” and resist any external pressure and intimidation.

The number of senator-judges is now down from 24 to 21 following the arrests of Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta, both on plunder charges, while Senator Bato dela Rosa is still in hiding to evade an International Criminal Court warrant. They are allied with the Cayetano-led bloc.

Cayetano and Matibag have been at odds since the alleged botched attempt by the NBI to arrest Dela Rosa in the Senate premises on 11 May on an ICC warrant. Recall that the Senate, under Cayetano as former president, granted Dela Rosa protective custody while he exhausts legal remedies in local courts. However, after three days, Dela Rosa “escaped” the Senate complex.

Matibag is expected to take the witness stand on Monday to testify regarding the NBI’s investigation into Duterte’s supposed grave threat against President Marcos Jr. during an online briefing in November 2024.

Cayetano alleged that Matibag’s pronouncement was a form of intimidation intended to discourage him from questioning Matibag about the developments of the NBI’s investigation into Duterte’s alleged kill plot against the President and his family.

On the one hand, he contended that Matibag’s allegations that there were congressional insertions to the SEAG project to the tune of approximately P10 billion were misplaced because he was not a member of Congress at the time. 

“It's definitely not me because how could a non-member of the Senate or non-member of the House insert anything?” he argued. 

The 2019 SEAG drew backlash due to allegations of an overpriced cauldron, which cost P50 million. Cayetano denied profiting from the project. 

Parallel probes were launched to scrutinize the spending, although Cayetano was later cleared of corruption allegations by former president Duterte.