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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Matibag rejects bias claim after VP Duterte lawyer says wife was among impeachment endorsers

Matibag rejects bias claim after VP Duterte lawyer says wife was among impeachment endorsers

Published Jul 21, 2026 07:38 pm

At A Glance

  • NBI Director Melvin Matibag rejects allegations of bias after defense counsel raises that his wife, Rep. Maria Rene Ann Matibag, endorsed the impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.
  • Matibag clarifies his testimony is compelled by subpoena and separate from his wife's legislative role, stressing his independence as NBI chief.
  • Despite prosecution objections, Senator Francis Escudero allows the defense's line of questioning, saying it tests the witness's freedom from bias.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag (Mark Balmores)
NBI Director Melvin Matibag (Mark Balmores)
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag has rejected an allegation of bias after his wife was brought up by the defense panel as one of the endorsers of the impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives.
During the cross-examination on Matibag on Tuesday, July 21, Duterte's defense counsel Mark Vinluan questioned the witness over a potential conflict of interest after the NBI chief acknowledged that his wife, Laguna 1st district Rep. Maria Rene Ann Matibag, was indeed among the endorsers of House Resolution (HR) No. 989 which sought to impeach the Vice President.
In one of the sequences during the cross, Matibag requested to state something "in order to save time" as Vinluan asked him credibility-testing questions to test the freedom from bias, if any.
Matibag stated: "In order to save time in the question of the Defense counsel, I think he's going to the position if my wife endorses the articles of impeachment, so that we save time and it's on record in matter of Public notice: She is my wife, she's one of the endorsers of the impeachment."
Vinluan then asked him that despite that spousal relationship he admitted, he still decided to appear and testify in the Senate impeachment trial.
"My decision to be a witness is by the virtue of a subpoena and issues of the honorable court and by the invitation of the Committee on Justice of the prosecution," the NBI chief said.
"However, the job of my wife as a legislator, is totally from me being the director of the [NBI]," he added.
Prior to Matibag's acknowledgment, Vinluan showed the document bearing the signature of the lady solon, but Matibag said he was in no authority to confirm the signature even if she was his wife.
The defense counsel questioned that while Matibag could recgnized his agent's signature, he cannot do the same to his wife's.
Matibag responded saying: "It appears to be her signature but I have not confronted with documents so that I can compare it."
"With the NBI, it's different, I testified earlier that it was presented to me, and I asked him if he signed it, and I'm familiar to his signature because he's always making submissions to my office," he said.
Vinluan's line of questioning pertaining to Matibag's wife was continuously objected to by the prosecution panel.
However, presiding officer Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero overruled it, and said "It tests the freedom from bias if any of the witness regarding his testimony."

Related Tags

Melvin Matibag impeachment trial Vice President Duterte Articles of Impeachment
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