Matibag seeks earlier date to testify in Duterte's trial due to a summit

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), who is set to testify in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, has asked prosecutors to move his court appearance to an earlier date.

This is because of a scheduling conflict with a summit on scams and transnational organized crime in Thailand.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag, in a letter to chief impeachment prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, asked that his testimony before the Senate impeachment court be scheduled ahead of July 20.

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On this day, he is also due to prepare for a two-day conference in Thailand with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Royal Thai Police. The event will take place from July 21 to 22.

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“As Director of the Bureau, I will personally attend to represent the NBI at this summit of director and commissioner general-level law enforcement leaders across the Asia-Pacific, which will require my travel and attendance on those dates,” he said in the letter dated July 10.

“In view thereof, I respectfully request that I be scheduled to take the witness stand prior to my departure so that my participation in the summit will neither disrupt the proceedings nor delay the presentation of my testimony,” Matibag requested.

READ: Barbers on Sara Duterte threat: Who’d place contract to kill on paper?

Matibag is expected to testify on the agency’s investigation into the alleged threats made by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the first lady and the former House speaker.

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In November 2024, Duterte went on an expletive-laden online briefing where she said she had asked someone to kill the president and his family if she would be assassinated.

She later denied making a threat, rejecting the claim despite initially having said that she was not joking.

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That charge became the centerpiece of the impeachment case, with prosecutors calling it grave as Duterte’s violent remarks came from someone who is the constitutional successor to Marcos – her former ally turned foe. /apl

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