MANILA, Philippines — Sens. Alan Peter Cayetano and Pia Cayetano are set to return to the Philippines from Singapore this coming weekend, according to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag.
Matibag said in an ambush interview at the Senate on Friday, September 11, that they have received information that the Cayetano siblings will be back in the country either by Saturday night, September 12 or Sunday night, September 13.
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“I think they are going to Singapore for a vacation, that’s their statement. And I have information that they will be coming back tomorrow yata, 11:00 p.m, or Sunday 11:00 p.m.,” Matibag said.
(I think they are going to Singapore for a vacation, that’s their statement. And I have information that they will be coming back tomorrow, I think at 11 p.m., or Sunday at 11 p.m.)
The Bureau of Immigration confirmed on Thursday, September 10, that the Cayetano siblings went out of the country.
The agency said there were no existing hold departure orders or derogatory orders against them to prevent them from leaving.
Meanwhile, Matibag said he sees nothing wrong with the Cayetanos’ recent travel abroad, adding that the public only raises questions about the timing because of the ongoing investigation into the P55-million cauldron that was used in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Earlier this week, the NBI announced that they are considering including Alan as one of the respondents in the charges they plan to recommend against five board members of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC).
Matibag reiterated this on Friday and maintained that the lawmaker may be included in the complaints since he had claimed authority over the committee.
“He’s not a member of the board of directors ng PHISGOC pero he always introduced himself as the chairman of PHISGOC so ‘yun ang linya na ating tinitignan,” Matibag said on Friday.
(He’s not a member of the board of directors of PHISGOC but he always introduced himself as the chairman of PHISGOC, so that’s the line we are looking at.)
The NBI had earlier claimed that they had discovered an alleged “double entry of payment” for the cauldron, which allegedly should have cost only P30 million.
Complaints are expected to be filed by next week as the NBI continues to review a new set of case documents.