Matibag: Public official's trust rating not a shield from accountability

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag on Tuesday rejected the assertion that a government officials' popularity should shield them from accountability, after the defense cited Vice President Sara Duterte’s latest trust rating during her impeachment trial.

During his cross-examination of Matibag, defense counsel Mark Vinluan presented a social media post citing news reports that Duterte had a 57% trust rating, compared with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 34%.

Vinluan then asked Matibag whether Duterte could be considered to have betrayed public trust despite enjoying a higher trust rating than the President.

Matibag said survey results merely provide a snapshot of public sentiment and do not necessarily determine whether an official has betrayed public trust.

“A survey is just a snapshot of what is happening. It doesn’t necessarily follow na kapag ‘yun ang lumabas, ‘yun na ang totoo,” he said.

(A survey is just a snapshot of what is happening. It doesn’t necessarily follow that when that comes out, that is already the truth.)

Matibag further argued that popularity should not be used as a basis for determining whether a person should be held accountable for alleged wrongdoing.

“Pangalawa, kapag po ating pinagbasehan ang popularidad, ang ibig sabihin po ba nito ang isang pinakakilala at popular na tao pwede nang gumawa ng krimen at hindi natin papanagutin?” he said.

(Second, if we base it on popularity, does that mean that the most well-known and popular person can commit a crime and we will not hold them accountable?)

Duterte is accused of betrayal of public trust over allegations that she resorted to violence and threatened to have Marcos killed. She also faces a separate impeachment charge involving alleged unexplained wealth.

Matibag is the prosecution’s final witness in its presentation of the article of impeachment concerning Duterte’s alleged grave threats against Marcos. — MCG, GMA News