The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed to the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday that the controversial “Romanov” reference originated from Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, rather than from any documented assassination plot against Vice President Sara Duterte.
The revelation emerged on the fifth day of the Vice President’s impeachment trial when Senator Raffy Tulfo questioned NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc regarding the source of the “Romanov” narrative, which the Vice President’s allies have used to justify her alleged threats against top officials.
Recounting the Davao mayor’s statements at a political rally, Lotoc noted that Sebastian Duterte had explicitly directed his words at the First Family.
“I will try if I remember it right. Ang sabi niya… ‘When you go to bed tonight, think about the Romanovs,’” Lotoc told senator-judges.
Lotoc testified that the agency interpreted the remark as a warning that the Marcos family could experience a political downfall akin to their ouster during the 1986 People Power Revolution. The Romanovs, Russia’s final imperial dynasty, were executed in 1918, and the name has occasionally served as a political metaphor for the forced removal or eradication of a ruling family.
During the proceedings, Tulfo pointed out that House spokesperson Princess Abante “Maui” Nograles later brought up the term “Romanov” during the Vice President’s online press conference to suggest a threat against Sara Duterte, despite Sebastian Duterte having originally aired the reference in public.
“Nagtataka ako na binanggit siya ni Princess Maui doon sa online press conference ni VP Sara… when in fact, it was Baste Duterte ang bumitaw ng salita na yun, warning sa first family,” Tulfo observed before asking the NBI to pinpoint the narrative’s true beginning.
Answering the query, Lotoc confirmed that investigators uncovered zero proof establishing an “Oplan Romanov” conspiracy aimed at the Vice President.
“So far as our investigation is concerned, since nag-start yan doon kay Mayor Baste, at wala ho kaming ma-validate na ibang Romanov operations na nangyari, I think nag-start yan sa kanila, sir, sa kapatid ng Bise Presidente,” Lotoc explained.
The discussion resurfaced because the Vice President’s camp previously pointed to the alleged “Oplan Romanov” threat to explain her November 2024 declarations.
Those specific remarks form the basis of Article IV of her impeachment complaint, which charges her with delivering grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.