An official from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) told the Senate impeachment court on Monday that public statements made by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez were classified by the agency as “real and actual” threats.
Testifying on the fourth day of the trial, NBI Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc stated that the bureau’s investigation concluded the Vice President’s remarks were meant to be taken seriously rather than as a joke.
“Klaro doon sa utterances ng Bise Presidente, even before the online press conference on November 23, 2024, the Vice President had already contracted a person to kill the President, (First Lady), and the former Speaker,” Lotoc said during direct examination by House prosecution counsel Amando Virgil Ligutan.
Lotoc noted that these conclusions were formally documented in the NBI’s official investigative report, which reviewed the content and context of Duterte’s speeches delivered on October 18 and November 23, 2024. The investigation also weighed the reactions of the targeted individuals and various state agencies.
According to the NBI official, the agency evaluated the gravity of the statements based on four specific factors: the delivery style, the literal interpretation of the language, the specific nature of the directive, and the existing relationship between the involved parties.
Lotoc further observed that the Vice President displayed intense anger during the broadcasts.
“More or less, walong beses siyang galit na galit at nagmumura at pinagmumura ang Presidente, First Lady at former House Speaker,” he added.
Lotoc, who is also a lawyer, took the stand for the House prosecution to substantiate the fourth article of impeachment, which charges the Vice President with allegedly orchestrating a plot to assassinate the President and his family, making grave threats, and inciting sedition.