By Len Transporte
Social media personality Sass Rogando Sasot has apologized to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag and his wife, San Jose del Monte Rep. Ann Marie Matibag, after falsely identifying them as the owners of a multimillion-dollar property in California.
In a Facebook post on July 28, Sasot withdrew her earlier claim and acknowledged that she had mistakenly linked the couple to a four-bedroom home in the United States.
“I apologize to NBI Director Melvin Matibag and Congresswoman Ann Matibag for this error. The original post has already been retracted,” Sasot wrote.
The controversy stemmed from a July 22 post in which Sasot alleged that the Matibag couple owned a house at 26023 Baldwin Place in California. The property, listed on US real estate platform Homes.com, carries an estimated value of $1.16 million, or about ₱72 million.
The allegation spread widely online, coming a day after Matibag testified in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte as a witness under Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment.
After reviewing publicly available records in the United States, however, Sasot said she discovered that the property’s owners were different individuals who merely shared similar names with the public officials.
“The Melvin Matibag owner of 26023 Baldwin Place in California is Melvin Benjoso Matibag (while the NBI Director is Melvin Alvarez Matibag); while the Anna Marie Matibag owner is Anna Marie Laman Matibag (while the Congresswoman is Ann Lourdes Garcia Matibag),” she said.
Matibag had earlier categorically denied the allegation, saying neither he nor his wife owns property abroad.
“I categorically deny. Wala kaming properties sa abroad. ’Yung properties namin all declared in my SALN. And you can get a copy of my SALN. Andyan naman ’yan. Andoon lahat diyan,” the NBI chief said.
He maintained that all of his assets are fully disclosed in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), which is available for public scrutiny.—Politiko.com.ph
