Cayetano says NBI chief Matibag feeding Marcos wrong info on Senate standoff

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano answers questions during a press conference on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. — Photo from Senate Social Media Unit MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano has accused National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag of feeding President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with wrong information on the shooting incident last Wednesday, as the chief executive’s order of standing down was supposedly not followed. In a livestream on his Facebook page on Friday, Cayetano said that Matibag had been lying to him since Monday, when NBI agents tried to arrest Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who suddenly showed up at the session after a six-month absence. “The president — and I thank him for calling, checking how we are, and assuring us that he told everyone to stand down, the military, the PNP, and the NBI. But I told him: Sir, the NBI has been lying to us. He said no, the NBI will follow him. I said: Sir, with all due respect, [Interior] Secretary Jonvic [Remulla] is here. He will give you a report,” Cayetano said. Article continues after this advertisement “Sunod-sunod po ang kasinungalingan po ni NBI Director. I believe he’s lying to the president — that is my personal belief. I believe he is giving him false narratives, kasama po nila si Senator (Antonio) Trillanes no’ng Monday, Senator Trillanes had no personality to do that, but he is in coordination with many,” he went on. “The NBI director has been making one lie after another. I believe he’s lying to the president. That is my personal belief. I believe he is giving him false narratives. He was with Senator [Antonio] Trillanes last Monday. Senator Trillanes had no personality to do that, but he is in coordination with many,” he added. Cayetano gave several examples when the NBI supposedly lied, such as its claim that it had no personnel within the Senate premises. The Senate leader said that NBI later shifted its narrative to claim that the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) management requested their presence. The Senate sits adjacent to the GSIS Building, and both establishments are within the GSIS complex in Pasay City. Article continues after this advertisement “After the press conference, they caught someone. He said he was a confidential assistant, a confidential agent. That was confirmed, and he was charged. And he also said who in the NBI ordered him to do that. It is about this time that the NBI changed its narrative,” Cayetano said. “They suddenly admitted that they were there. They said that there was a letter from the GSIS requesting security. In history, the GSIS has never requested security from the NBI. They always call the police. The NBI is not in charge of security,” he added. Article continues after this advertisement Another incident in which Matibag supposedly lied to Cayetano was when the NBI head promised that there would be no checkpoints outside the Senate premises, which was not the case. “At even assuming for the sake of argument, we already had an agreement with Director Matibag that in the building, around the building — because he promised that to me — there would be no checkpoints from the NBI, but we have seen the videos, NBI asked that senators’ vehicles be opened for inspection. This was on Monday,” he said. Cayetano also called on Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to suspend Matibag if he suspended Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Ma. O Aplasca, as the NBI Director, is more of a suspect even if Aplasca admitted that he was the first to fire a warning shot against NBI personnel inside the GSIS Building. READ: Ombudsman Remulla suspends Aplasca over Senate shooting According to Cayetano, any person would have acted the same as Aplasca — giving a verbal warning and then a warning shot — if armed men in tactical gear were approaching their home. On Wednesday night — two days after Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa suddenly showed up at the Senate’s plenary session after a six-month absence — the country was rocked with reports of gunfire inside the Senate’s halls. The exchange came amid rumors that NBI personnel will serve an arrest order against dela Rosa, based on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the crimes against humanity charges against him. This was for dela Rosa’s role in the past administration’s drug war. In a press briefing on Thursday, the Palace press officer, Undersecretary Claire Castro, and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla separately said that Aplasca was the first to discharge his firearm. Eventually, Aplasca admitted that he did fire the first warning shot, reasoning out that it was unusual for NBI agents not to coordinate with them when they were in the vicinity — even if they were in the adjacent GSIS Building. READ: Senate shooting: Aplasca admits being first to fire vs NBI personnel Senators have rushed to Aplasca’s defense. Aside from Cayetano, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said the majority bloc stands behind the sergeant-at-arms, saying that the actions taken were justifiable. READ: Senate majority backs Aplasca’s actions in Senate shooting In a phone interview with reporters covering the Senate, Estrada was first asked if Aplasca overreacted by firing a warning shot against an NBI member. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. Estrada said that it was just a warning shot because they had heard reports that armed elements would enter the Senate soon. /atm