Manila, March 6 -- The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has issued subpoenas to the 18 alleged former Marines who claimed they delivered bags of cash to current and former government officials.

Also subpoenaed were former congressman Mike Defensor, lawyer Levito Baligod, and the unnamed lawyer who notarized the former Marines' affidavits, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said on Friday.

"We are deputized by the Ombudsman to investigate the issue," Matibag said in an interview with reporters.

National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV have filed complaints against the group before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a press conference last month, Baligod presented the 18 former Marines who allegedly ...