The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has launched an investigation into alleged unliquidated funds and procurement irregularities involving the sports complex built for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in New Clark City.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said investigators are examining reports that about P10 billion in public funds allocated for the project have not been properly liquidated. The bureau is also looking into allegations that the facilities were built without undergoing competitive public bidding.

Matibag said the investigation focuses on three areas: the alleged unliquidated funds, the reported bypassing of procurement requirements, and the costs of the controversial Olympic-style cauldron used during the opening ceremonies of the 2019 SEA Games.

According to Matibag, the funds were reportedly released through congressional insertions in the General Appropriations Act.

The New Clark City sports complex was developed by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority in partnership with Malaysian firm MTD Capital Berhad.

He said investigators came across the alleged irregularities while inspecting a site designated for the proposed NBI Academy in New Clark City.

"We have something to look at and investigate because when we got to the area, it turned out that billions of pesos had been poured into the project but remained unliquidated," Matibag said.

He also claimed that the Malaysian contractor built the facilities without a public bidding process.

"There was no bidding that took place, and the P10 billion was quickly paid through congressional insertion," he said.

Matibag said the bureau considers the case a high-priority investigation and is conducting it alongside its renewed review of the cauldron project, whose reported cost reached between P32 million and P50 million.

Previous reports by the Commission on Audit noted that the sports complex was incorporated into an unsolicited joint venture proposal, raising concerns that the arrangement may have given an undue advantage to the private partner.

Matibag did not identify any individual as a subject of the investigation, including Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

Cayetano, who served as chairman of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee during the country's hosting of the 2019 SEA Games, has previously maintained that the event was conducted transparently and has said he welcomes any formal investigation into the project.