NBI director tells Roque: Come home, face raps
New National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag on Monday urged former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque to come home and face the charges against him.
Roque, who is currently outside the country, is one of several accused facing arrest for human trafficking in connection with the illegal activities of a Philippine offshore gaming operator in Porac, Pampanga.
“You should come home and face all the charges. That’s where you should answer all the charges against you,” Matibag said in an ambush interview with reporters at the Department of Justice building on Monday.
Roque earlier claimed that Matibag was appointed to the bureau as a reward for filing a disbarment case against him.
Both served in the Cabinet under former President Rodrigo Duterte: Roque as presidential spokesperson and Matibag as Cabinet secretary. The new NBI director was also the secretary general of the former president’s political party, Partido ng Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban).
Not a reward
According to Matibag, the leadership position at the NBI is not easy, so he cannot call it a “reward.”
As for Roque, he said he considers him a friend, adding that “anyone is entitled to their opinion.”
“The case I filed is in the Supreme Court, let it be resolved in the Supreme Court, and I should not be judged on things like that but on my performance as NBI director,” Matibag said.
He filed the disbarment case against Roque in September 2024 over the latter’s allegedly malicious social media posts on a “deepfake” video supposedly showing President Marcos using drugs.
