NBI investigates 18 ex-Marines’ credibility, cash delivery allegations

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is investigating the credibility and claim of 18 alleged former Marines that they delivered cash to public officials and personalities, Director Melvin Matibag said Wednesday.

In an ambush interview, Matibag said the Office of the Ombudsman deputized the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct the investigation.

“Ang ginawa muna namin, chineck muna namin ‘yung personalities because there was a report that some of them were not really members of the Marine Corp, which turns out to be upon verification, totoo pala,” he said.

(What we did first was check the personalities because there was a report that some of them were not really members of the Marine Corps, which turned out upon verification to be true.)

“Some of them, in fact, have some cases, criminal cases. So may mga ganon na kaming nakikita. And we’re looking on the incident itself,” he added.

(Some of them, in fact, have some cases, criminal cases. So we are already seeing things like that. And we’re looking at the incident itself.)

Aside from this, Matibag said they are looking into the people behind this, as well as the individual that notarized their affidavit.

To recall, lawyer Levito Baligod and the 18 ex-Marines accused several individuals of allegedly receiving cash from former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co.

The government officials and individuals mentioned have denied the allegations against them, with the Philippine Navy saying that four of the 18 were never members of the Navy nor the Philippine Marine Corps.

Matibag said that the Ombudsman has the power to deputize any agency in line with their mandate.

“NBI has already been deputized by the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate on the incident, ‘yung sa 18 marines, ‘yung kanilang joint affidavit and all the allegations,” he said.

“We investigate all the angles. Lahat titignan namin,” he added.

He said that based on the process of investigation, they must first look into the complaint and the complainants

“We look at the personality, we look at the veracity of the statement and if the evidence will lead towards their allegations, doon sa mga binanggit na pangalan, we will call upon them,” he said.

He also stressed that there is nothing political about the investigation.

“We look in every angle. This is not political. But we look at the angle, personalities involved, personalities that were mentioned,” he said. —AOL, GMA Integrated News