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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Matibag: NBI not a political tool vs PBBM critics

Matibag: NBI not a political tool vs PBBM critics

Published May 4, 2026 04:23 pm
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Melvin A. Matibag on Monday, May 4, assured that the law enforcement agency is not being used against critics of the administration of President Marcos.
Matibag made the assurance during a press conference held at the NBI following operations conducted by the law enforcement agency against a KTV joint linked to the family of former congressman Mike Defensor and the arrest of media personality Jay Sonza.
Since he got appointed as NBI director on Feb. 19, Matibag said the NBI has 182 successful operations as of May 1.
“At doon po sa 182 na ‘to na sinasabi ‘nung mga tao na pulitika, ang political personalities lang po na nakilala na lumalaban sa gobyerno na nasama rito is Mike Defensor, ‘yung sa pamilya n’ya, at si Jay Sonza because of the warrant of arrest (Among the 182 that is being cited as political, the only personalities who have been criticizing the government are Mike Defensor and his family, and Jay Sonza who got arrested based on a warrant of arrest),” said the NBI chief.
“Other than that wala po. Kahit isa-isahan n’yo po ang listahan na ito (Other than them, there is none. You can even check one by one the list),” assured Matibag.
Meanwhile, the director confirmed that Sonza has posted a P10,000 bail after being arrested by the NBI at his residence in Quezon City last Thursday night, April 30, based on the arrest warrant issued by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) over charges of unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances in violation of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), as amended, in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act (RA) 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
The case stemmed from the viral photos of CT scan results from St. Luke’s Medical Center which showed that the President was diagnosed with diverticulitis diverticulitis, a common intestinal condition.

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