Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and his sister, Senator Pia Cayetano, are slated to return to the Philippines this weekend following a recent trip overseas, according to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag.
Speaking to journalists following a Senate Committee on Economic Affairs hearing on the domestic steel sector, Matibag disclosed that intelligence reports indicate the siblings are expected to arrive back in the country on Saturday or Sunday evening aboard Singapore Airlines flight SQ-918.
“I have information that they will be coming back maybe tomorrow at 11 p.m., or Sunday at 11 p.m., SQ-918 [flight],” Matibag told reporters.
The disclosure comes days after reports emerged of the two lawmakers boarding a Singapore-bound flight.
While the NBI chief remarked that foreign travel for personal recreation is harmless, he acknowledged that the timing of the trip could easily stir public scrutiny due to ongoing probes.
“I see no problem, if they are just there on a vacation. But of course, the timing, we can’t blame the public for having some comments about it,” Matibag said.
The NBI is presently looking into Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s involvement in alleged irregularities concerning the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) during the country’s hosting of the 2019 SEA Games. Simultaneously, the Office of the Ombudsman is conducting an inquiry into separate allegations of infrastructure and flood-control project anomalies in Taguig City.
Matibag clarified that the bureau’s investigation into the SEA Games matters remains active, explaining that recent developments delayed the initial submission deadline for their report.
“Actually, we had hoped to file [the report] by now, but we had very important witnesses last Monday who provided us with additional documents that require further review. This means we need more time to go over them,” he said.
Investigators are specifically focusing on the senator’s role within PHISGOC, pointing out that he held a primary leadership position despite not being listed on the organization’s governing board.
“Yet he consistently introduced himself as the PHISGOC Chairman; that is the angle we are currently looking into,” he said.