National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag on Tuesday denied reports claiming that he owns a P72 million mansion in California, United States, saying the property belongs to another individual who merely shares the same name as him.

Speaking at a press conference, Matibag described the allegation as "fake news" and insisted that neither he nor his wife, Laguna Rep. Ann Matibag, owns any property abroad.

He said all of their assets have been properly declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), which he said is available for public scrutiny.

"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," he said.

The NBI chief explained that the California property cited in the report was purchased in 2004 by another individual who merely shares the same name as him. He noted that he had not even met his wife at that time.

"Mali na kaagad eh, hindi pa nga kami magkakilala ng asawa ko noong 2004," Matibag said.

To support his denial, Matibag presented a folder of documents to the media, which he said disproves the report linking him to the multimillion-dollar property.

"Kaya minsan yung mga makikitid ang utak... sasabihin na kaagad na palusot lang 'yan," he added.

"This is totally fake news... I abhor this kind of behaviour."

Matibag believes the spread of what he described as false information is intended to undermine his credibility as a witness in the ongoing impeachment trial.

He maintained that the allegations are unrelated to his testimony, saying that all the information he has presented before the impeachment court is backed by official NBI records.

The NBI director also said he is studying the possibility of filing charges against the news outlet that published the report.

Although the outlet has since issued another report clarifying the issue, Matibag said the clarification was insufficient and that the original report had already caused significant damage to his reputation.