National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag on Thursday denied reports that the agency deployed personnel to the Senate during Wednesday night’s tense standoff, insisting that no operatives were sent to the area and no order had been issued to arrest Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
Speaking in an interview with GMA News, Matibag said he and several senior NBI officials were attending a three-day planning workshop at Sequoia Hotel in Quezon City when the incident unfolded.
According to Matibag, he only became aware of the situation after receiving a call from Sen. Loren Legarda, who reportedly asked him to pull out supposed NBI agents from the Senate premises.
“Ang sabi ko sa kanya, ‘Wala kaming agents diyan.’ At wala naman po talaga (I told her, ‘We don’t have agents there.’ And we really didn’t),” Matibag said.
He said he was later informed that gunshots had allegedly been fired inside the Senate complex.
“Kasi daw nagpaputok. Sabi ko, paimbestigahan niyo at ipahuli niyo kung sino ang nagpaputok dahil siguradong wala kaming tao sa Senado (They said there was gunfire. I told them to investigate and arrest whoever fired the shots because we definitely had no personnel inside the Senate),” he added.
Matibag also dismissed claims circulating online that NBI operatives disguised themselves as members of the media to gain access to the Senate building.
The NBI chief emphasized that any move involving the possible implementation of an arrest warrant would require coordination among government agencies and careful legal review.
“Meron ding Supreme Court case at tinitingnan din namin ang direksyon niyan (There is also a pending Supreme Court case, and we are monitoring where it is headed),” he said.
Matibag added that the NBI did not see any reason to proceed to the Senate during the incident, especially after the bureau was being linked to the reported gunfire. He said most of the information they monitored came from livestreams and videos circulating on social media.