The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is targeting to finish its investigation into the alleged irregularities in the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games within three to four weeks, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said on Tuesday.

Matibag said investigators have already gathered sufficient evidence and are preparing to conclude the probe.

"We are intending to wrap it up in three to four weeks because the evidence is already clear," Matibag said in a press conference on July 28.

"I think in three to four weeks, we can finish the investigation and file the respective charges," he added.

According to Matibag, the filing of recommended charges will immediately follow the completion of the investigation.

The NBI chief also disclosed that officials of the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) failed to appear before the bureau on Monday, July 27, despite being subpoenaed. Instead, only their legal counsel attended the proceedings.

Of the seven individuals summoned by the NBI, only one appeared before investigators on Tuesday morning, Matibag said.

Meanwhile, Matibag said the Commission on Audit (COA) has yet to respond to the bureau's request for a certified true copy of its audit report on the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), particularly documents related to the 2019 SEA Games and PHISGOC.

He added that the NBI is also awaiting the response of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which has been asked to provide records concerning PHISGOC Foundation Inc. covering the period from 2017 to 2026.

Earlier, the NBI created Task Force Cash Cow to investigate the operations of PHISGOC, the non-government organization that oversaw the country's hosting of the 2019 SEA Games and was previously led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as interim chairman.

Based on documents obtained by the bureau, the NBI said PHISGOC allegedly received P6.7 billion in government funds from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the staging of the 2019 SEA Games.