Mel Sabio, a friend of Atty. Melvin Matibag’s, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director, has pressed charges against five individuals who had allegedly violated the Data Privacy Act by spreading a video of an argument the two had in 2020.

In a press conference, Sabio said he and Matibag were having a heated argument regarding politics through the phone but made up around two weeks later.

“Actually po, 2020 pa po ‘yan nangyari. Nasa kabilang partido po ako, pulitika sa San Pedro first district (Laguna). So nagkaroon kami ng pag-uusap ni attorney (Matibag) doon nga sa telepono. After naman ‘yan ng siguro two weeks, nagkaayos din po kami, nagka-usap kami at nagkapatawaran. Humingi din ako ng dispensa sa kanya dahil doon sa mga nai-post,” he said, referring to an online post he made, from which the sharp exchange stemmed.

“‘Yung post is political, so doon po nag-start ‘yan. Kaya ako nagulat, kasi matagal na po iyan,” Sabio added.

He said that his family has been affected by the circulation of the video, as even his children’s names have been revealed to the public.

“Lumabas ngayon so nagagamit and medyo affected na rin ‘yung family kasi lumalabas na ‘yung ano, pati ‘yung pangalan ko at mga anak ko,” he said.

Matibag later clarified that his friend is not a media personality, nor is he a government official. Sabio is a private individual who was merely roped into politics.

The bureau director vowed he would back the investigation into the case Sabio filed.

“Kung ano ‘yung finile ni Mel, sususugan ko na imbestigahan, ano,” Matibag said, adding that smear campaigns of this sort needed to be addressed.

“Ang tinatawag dito sa social media, inappropriate coordinate behavior. Ibig sabihin, pansinin niyo, grupo ‘yan. Kung sila, sabay-sabay, isa ‘yung tirada nila, these are the things that we should address sa social media,” he said.