NBI probe on 2019 SEA Games 'anomalies' grounded in its mandate —DOJ

The National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) probe into alleged anomalies in the bidding and funding of the projects for the 2019 SEA Games is grounded in its mandate and the rule of law, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday.

This came after Senator Pia Cayetano said that the investigation is meant to intimidate her brother Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who served as chairman of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC), which organized the 2019 SEA Games.

“We assure her and the public that the actions of the National Bureau of Investigation are grounded solely in its mandate and the rule of law,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ also said that it “fully respects” Cayetano's views but maintained that the NBI "will carry out its work."

“The Department has full confidence that the NBI will continue to carry out its work with the professionalism, integrity, and independence expected of it,” it added.

“While the NBI is an attached agency of the Department, it is given sufficient operational independence to perform its investigative functions as it deems appropriate under the law,” said the DOJ.

Matibag had disclosed the bureau recently received "new information and documents" involving the PHISGOC, claiming that billions of pesos were spent on the SEA Games Sports Complex.

He also alleged that a private company received P10 billion through "congressional insertions."

Malacañang has said that the NBI’s probe was not meant to intimidate anyone who did nothing wrong. —VAL, GMA News