The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has formally verified the authenticity of a controversial video featuring Vice President Sara Duterte, in which she purportedly detailed an assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
During a House Committee on Justice hearing on Wednesday, NBI agent John Mark Calilung testified that the bureau’s digital forensic examination confirmed the November 23, 2024, footage is genuine and untampered. As part of the evidence submitted to the panel, the NBI included an Affidavit of Authentication of Digital Evidence.
The video captures the Vice President issuing a stark warning regarding her security arrangements:
“Pt* ina ninyong lahat—Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong Marcos. Huwag kang mag-alala, Ma’am, sa security ko, kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sabi ko sa kanya, kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. ’Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila.”
Under questioning from San Juan Representative Ysabel Maria Zamora, Calilung clarified that the bureau utilized advanced verification techniques to rule out any form of manipulation, including deepfakes or malicious editing.
“Ang authentication po ay pagtiyak na ang video ay pareho at tunay na recording ng nangyari. Ini-ensure po namin na hindi ito edited, spliced, o AI-generated, Your Honor,” Calilung told the committee.
To ensure the integrity of the evidence, the NBI coordinated with Meta Platforms to preserve the source URL and performed a hash value calculation. Calilung described this process as creating a “digital fingerprint,” noting that any alteration to the file would have resulted in a mismatched value.
Following the NBI’s confirmation, the House Committee on Justice has officially admitted the video into its records as it proceeds with its investigation into the Vice President’s statements.