Dizon cleared ahead of SEA Games probe: DoJ defends NBI inquiry amid Cayetano pushback

The Department of Justice (DoJ) on Thursday defended the National Bureau of Investigation’s probe into alleged anomalies in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, even as Malacañang and the Office of the Ombudsman maintained that Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon had already been cleared of allegations tied to the country’s hosting of the regional sporting event.

Undersecretary and DoJ spokesperson Polo Martinez insisted the investigation was being conducted strictly in accordance with the law, dismissing suggestions it was politically motivated or intended to influence the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The Palace, meanwhile, maintained that while Dizon had already been exonerated, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was never formally investigated over the SEA Games controversy because then President Rodrigo Duterte had publicly vouched for him before any formal inquiry could be initiated.

The issue has resurfaced with Cayetano, who chaired the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (phisgoc) in 2019, questioning the timing of the NBI inquiry and challenging the bureau to proceed with its investigation.

His sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano, suggested the probe could be intended to intimidate or distract the minority senators serving as senator-judges in Duterte’s impeachment trial. The controversy first came under the national spotlight after DAILY TRIBUNE ran a series of investigative reports that scrutinized the preparations for the country’s hosting of the SEAG, raising questions over procurement, unfinished sports facilities, transportation and accommodation problems, and the controversial P50-million cauldron.

TRIBUNE bombshells

The TRIBUNE reports scrutinized PHISGOC’s handling of the biennial meet that resulted in congressional inquiries, Commission on Audit findings, and criminal complaints filed against officials linked to the games.

The reporting also triggered an aggressive legal response against DAILY TRIBUNE’s journalistic effort to get to the bottom of the allegations against PHISGOC officials and movers, including Cayetano.

In 2021, Philippine National Volleyball Federation president and former PHISGOC chief operating officer Ramon “Tats” Suzara filed 46 counts of cyber libel against DAILY TRIBUNE officers, editors, and reporters over the stories.

In 2022, prosecutors dismissed all 46 complaints, ruling that the TRIBUNE reports dealt with matters of legitimate public interest and finding no evidence of actual malice, an essential element of cyber libel involving public officials and public figures.

Confidence in the probe

At the DoJ, Martinez expressed confidence the NBI would carry out its investigative functions with “the professionalism, integrity, and independence expected of it.”

NBI director Melvin Matibag clarified that no individual, including Cayetano, had been identified as the subject of the investigation.

“I’m aware that he (Cayetano) was the chairman of PHISGOC, so it’s not a renewed interest. It just so happened that documents have come out now which will lead us to investigate because all that come in here regarding corruption or anything, even ordinary cases, when brought to us, will be investigated,” Matibag said.

P50-M cauldron

He stressed that the information reached the bureau only recently and described the inquiry as “incidental,” adding that it had nothing to do with the impeachment trial even though he is among the prosecution’s scheduled witnesses.

The NBI recently disclosed that it was looking into alleged anomalies involving the New Clark City sports complex, the controversial P50-million SEA Games cauldron, about P10 billion in allegedly unliquidated government funds, and claims that some projects proceeded without public bidding.

Likewise, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano confirmed that a complaint that had been filed against Dizon over the construction of the New Clark City sports facilities had been dismissed for insufficiency of evidence through a joint resolution issued in December 2021.

The complaint, filed by Citizens Crime Watch, accused Dizon, then president and chief executive officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, and three others of graft and malversation over the P8.51-billion sports facilities project.

It alleged irregularities in the joint venture agreement with Malaysian firm MTD Capital Berhad, including the absence of sufficient bidding documents, lack of liquidation, illegal contract insertions, and the increase in the project cost from P8.51 billion to P11 billion.

It also cited a Commission on Audit finding that the agreement had been executed before Congress appropriated funds for the project under the 2019 General Appropriations Act.

“Upon checking the records of this case, it appears that the case filed against Secretary Vince Dizon regarding the construction of the sports facilities for the 2019 SEA Games had been dismissed for insufficiency of evidence,” Clavano said.

Probed and cleared

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro likewise said Dizon had been investigated and cleared.

“As far as we know, Secretary Vince Dizon was investigated during that time regarding that issue. The investigation pushed through and he was acquitted,” Castro said.

She said the NBI probe was not intended to intimidate anyone and those who had done nothing wrong had nothing to fear.