NBI probes P6.7-B Phisgoc transfers

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has created a special task force to investigate the alleged transfer of at least P6.7 billion in government funds linked to the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc), NBI director Melvin Matibag said Thursday.

“Just today, we created a task force. We call it Task Force Cash Count,” Matibag said. “Our initial findings show that there was P6.7 billion in government funds that went to Phisgoc.”

The NBI has begun coordinating with the Commission on Audit (CoA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to verify the transactions and obtain financial records.

He said the amount under investigation could exceed P10 billion once validation is completed.

The NBI has initially identified about seven individuals for questioning, with some expected to appear before investigators on Monday and others on Tuesday.

Matibag declined to identify them, saying they would be given sufficient opportunity to respond.

Phisgoc was the private foundation that organized the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano chaired the organizing committee, which received billions of pesos in government funding.

Cayetano has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly welcomed investigations into the handling of funds for the regional sporting event.