The NBI's Convenient Spokesman: Why Claire Castro's Use of the Bureau Deserves Scrutiny

There is a pattern worth examining in the public conduct of Palace Press Officer Claire Castro — and it has everything to do with the National Bureau of Investigation. In January 2026, Castro personally walked into the NBI to file a complaint against a pro-Duterte Facebook page after it posted that "only her appendix and coccyx would be left untouched" once she was dropped by her allies. She called it a grave threat. She was photographed arriving at the NBI. She held a press briefing about it. The state's full media infrastructure was deployed to amplify the moment. In April 2026, when testimonies emerged about alleged assassination plots against President Marcos Jr., Castro again pointed directly at the NBI. "It is the NBI's obligation to investigate death threats against the President and any ordinary citizen," she said at a press conference. In May 2026, when PGMN founder Franco Mabanta was arrested in an entrapment operation, Castro stood before cameras and declared Mabanta was "not a friend of the President" — while showing reporters photos of Mabanta with the Dutertes. In every act, the NBI was either the instrument, the enforcer, or the shield. --- ## The Bureau as a Political Tool This is not an accusation against Castro personally. It is an observation about a structural problem. In democratic systems, law enforcement agencies like the NBI are supposed to operate independently — investigating crimes on their own initiative based on evidence, not on the political needs of whoever occupies Malacañang. The concern arises when a pattern emerges where the Palace press officer, whose job is to defend the administration, appears to treat the NBI as a ready-made legal weapon to be pointed at critics and inconvenient figures. Consider the timeline: The Facebook page Castro filed a complaint against in January was run by pro-Duterte bloggers. This was during the height of the Marcos-Duterte political split. The NBI complaint generated national coverage, framing the DDS bloggers as dangerous aggressors and the Palace as a victim. When the Mabanta arrest happened in May, Castro's role was to immediately distance the President from his former social media director — not once engaging with whether the arrest itself raised legitimate press freedom concerns. Instead, she redirected attention: "Ask about his Duterte connections." And when death threat allegations surfaced in congressional hearings against the President, Castro's instinct was again to tell the NBI to act — as if the independent investigative bureau exists to respond to Malacañang press briefings. --- ## The Chucky Remark and the Complaint That Followed There is another layer to Castro's January NBI complaint worth examining. The grave threat she complained about did not emerge in a vacuum. The threatening post appeared after Castro made a public remark comparing Vice President Sara Duterte to horror film character "Chucky" when angry. In other words: Castro made a nationally broadcast insult of the sitting Vice President, the bloggers responded with what she called a threat, and then Castro used the NBI to respond. This is a cycle that should concern anyone who cares about proportionality and the abuse of state power. The Palace press officer has a national microphone and daily access to state media. A blogger has a Facebook page. When the blogger responds — even offensively — using the country's primary investigative bureau as the comeback is a significant mismatch of power. The DDS page argued Castro was weaponizing the NBI to create a "chilling effect" on political speech. That argument deserves serious consideration, especially from a government that simultaneously argues it supports press freedom and free expression. --- ## What the Pattern Tells Us The NBI, under Director Melvin Matibag — personally appointed by President Marcos in February 2026 — has been an extraordinarily active bureau in a very short period. It arrested PGMN's Mabanta days before a potentially damaging exposé. It investigated social media accounts critical of the administration. It was directed by Castro to look into death threats. It testified at Sara Duterte's impeachment hearings. None of these individual actions are necessarily wrong. But the cumulative picture of an NBI that appears responsive to Malacañang's political needs — activated when the Palace needs it, pointed where the Palace directs it — is a picture that should make Filipinos uncomfortable. --- ## The Standard Goes Both Ways Castro's statement on the Mabanta case is worth quoting precisely: "If they have committed a crime, they should be held accountable — but due process must be followed in all cases." She is right. But that standard must apply universally — including when the NBI is being used to go after critics of the administration, including when bloggers are prosecuted for Facebook posts, and including when the bureau's own director appears in viral videos making threats. Due process and equal treatment under the law cannot be invoked selectively — championed when it defends the Palace's allies and ignored when the bureau is turned outward against its critics. The NBI exists to serve the Filipino people. Not Malacañang. Not the Palace press officer. And not whoever currently needs the political optics of being seen as the victim. --- *This is an opinion and analysis piece. Pulpulitiko believes in accountability, due process, and the equal application of the law to all parties.*