In a media release dated October 14, Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim of Chua Lim & Associates said Matibag had previously published opinion articles criticizing Duterte, raising concerns about his impartiality in handling the investigation.
“As shown in the impeachment case, Director Matibag has previously written scathing opinion articles against the Vice President, and is evidently politically biased against her,” Lim said.
He also questioned Matibag’s public disclosure of developments in the ongoing investigation, saying these appeared to reinforce his concerns about the NBI chief’s impartiality.
“With respect, his current publicity on the progress of what is supposed to be a live investigation—showing support for Mr. Gracioso and implying guilt to the Vice President and her family, simultaneous with the impeachment trial—appears to confirm this bias,” Lim said.
Lim stressed that the NBI should remain professional and politically neutral in carrying out its investigative duties.
“We trust that this is not representative of the entire agency, from which professional and apolitical investigative work is expected, and which must never be weaponized for partisan purposes,” he added.