THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has issued subpoenas to Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste and former congressman Jacinto Paras as it deepens its investigation into an alleged P5-million scheme to fabricate accusations against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag on Monday said the bureau believes Recto was the target of an apparent character assassination campaign, adding that both Leviste and Paras have been directed to appear before investigators on Thursday.
He warned that the bureau would take appropriate legal action should either fail to comply.
The investigation stemmed from an NBI-National Capital Region entrapment operation at a five-star hotel in Malate, Manila, where authorities arrested a talent manager and rescued five women allegedly recruited for the operation.
According to Matibag, the talent manager admitted that he had been hired to recruit four women who would falsely accuse Recto of illegal drug use and sexual abuse.
The women were allegedly promised a total of P5 million in exchange for signing affidavits and making the accusations.
Investigators are now tracing who orchestrated the alleged operation and whether other personalities were involved.
Matibag said digital evidence recovered during the investigation allegedly linked Paras to the scheme.
He added that a forensic examination of the former lawmaker’s voluntarily surrendered mobile phone showed that some potentially incriminating text messages had already been deleted.
The NBI chief also disclosed that investigators are looking into reports that the alleged masterminds planned to target sitting senators if the operation against Recto had succeeded.
Despite the allegations, Matibag stressed that the subpoenas were issued to give Leviste and Paras the opportunity to explain their side, noting that the bureau already has admissions and statements from key subjects in the case.
“If they fail to appear, we will proceed based on the evidence before us,” Matibag said, adding that the NBI is likewise prepared to help Leviste or Paras prosecute those behind the allegations if the claims against them prove to be false.
Matibag also confirmed that Recto is cooperating with the investigation and will be represented by his legal team.
Paras has denied any involvement in the alleged scheme. His lawyer, Mark Kristopher Tolentino, said the defense is still reviewing reports, affidavits, electronic communications, and other available evidence before deciding whether to pursue criminal, civil, or administrative cases against those linking the former congressman to the alleged plot.
Leviste has also denied the allegations. The NBI said the investigation remains ongoing as it works to identify all those allegedly behind the purported smear campaign.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said Recto may not have been the only target.
“The NBI, under Director Matibag, is getting to the bottom of this because it is probable that it is not only ES Ralph Recto that they want to victimize. So, we need to look into this,” Castro said in Filipino.
She said if the plot proved true, it was a despicable, unacceptable, inhumane, selfish, and power-hungry act involving the sowing of intrigue and the planting of evidence.
The Palace press officer said the Marcos government is against misinformation, fake news, and the alleged “planting of evidence” that took place during the past administration.
“But they still continue doing it now. This was not the first time. We have already seen in several instances that the alleged witnesses that they presented were planted,” Castro said in Filipino.
“So, who is making trouble now in this country? The vice president (Sara Duterte) said the country is in chaos. Who is making a mess in our country now? Definitely, not President Marcos,” she added.
