Matibag confirms NBI raids on houses allegedly owned by Velascos

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided houses in August supposedly owned by former House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and his wife, Rowena, NBI Director Melvin Matibag confirmed on Tuesday.

In an interview, Matibag said the NBI conducted the raid on Aug. 24 after receiving intelligence information about supposed illegal firearms in houses in Valle Verde.

“We applied for a search warrant. We searched for it, and it turned out that the houses named after other personalities were actually owned by the former speaker and Ms. Rowena, based on their admission when the search warrant was enforced,” he said.

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“There were gun magazines, bullets, shell casings, and IDs of security personnel or police officers who were there. But there was no law enforcement personnel at the time,” he added.

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He did not identify the exact number of houses the bureau raided in the area.

READ: NBI: Velasco, wife currently out of the country

But he said the addresses raided were included in the affidavit that Velasco’s former security aide and dismissed police officer Rodulfo Gracioso Jr. submitted to the NBI this September.

Gracioso claims that he delivered suitcases containing large sums of cash to Vice President Sara Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte in tranches starting in 2018, at the former speaker’s instructions.

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Velasco, through his spokesperson, earlier released a statement denying Gracioso’s “cash delivery” accusation and calling it “fabricated.”

READ: Ex-cop appears before NBI over alleged ‘cash delivery’ to Dutertes

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Meanwhile, Matibag confirmed that Velasco and his wife are currently out of the country.

According to Matibag, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed to the NBI that Velasco left the country for Nagoya, Japan, on Aug. 30, or six days after the raid.

The NBI director said the former House speaker was supposed to return on Sept. 14, but based on the records, he still has not returned.

Meanwhile, he said Velasco’s wife, along with two individuals, traveled to Hong Kong on Sept. 24.

She was supposed to return on Sept. 27, but there is still no record of her return, Matibag said.

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The BI also earlier released a statement confirming Velasco’s travel overseas. /mcm