NBI witness says Duterte threats could trigger alleged hitman

MANILA, Philippines — One issue agents looked at when they investigated Vice President Sara Duterte’s threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and his relatives is the possibility that any unfortunate incident involving Duterte would trigger the assassin, a witness from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Monday.

At the resumption of the impeachment trial on Monday, NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc was asked by the counsel for the prosecution, lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan, as to why Duterte’s statements — that she has contracted a person to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez if she gets killed — were alarming for the agency.

Lotoc said that Duterte’s persistence — based on her reminder that the assassin should not stop until he succeeds in killing the three — along with the possibility of the hitman being activated if something bad happens to Duterte, were pressing reasons.

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READ: Prosecution also wants to fast-track Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial – spox

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“IIn those utterances, the Vice President said, ‘Do not stop until you kill them.’  It shows persistence on the part of the Vice President that she was determined to carry out those utterances, and from the point of view of law enforcement agencies like the NBI, it’s alarming for us, sir,” Lotoc said.

“This can be taken advantage of by other groups, other individuals, God forbid something bad happens to the Vice President for one reason or the other, it will trigger the instruction to kill, again, God forbid, the President, Liza Marcos, and the former Speaker,” he added.

Lotoc said that another aspect of this threat is that any attack on Marcos, Araneta-Marcos, and Romualdez may be pinned down on Duterte, after she made such statements.

READ: Witness to prove Sara Duterte hired hitman before her kill remark vs Marcos

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If any of these scenarios happened, Lotoc said that law enforcement agencies feared that the country may descend into chaos and anarchy.

“And in fact even in that triggering phase, this can be taken advantage of by other groups who think that once they assassinate the three, it will be the Vice President who will be blamed for the act,” Lotoc noted.

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“So there are several angles, Your Honor. For us in law enforcement, there may be disorder; it will be chaotic; there will be anarchy within society if we fail to address it. That is what we think as investigators, sir,” he added.

Ligutan then quizzed the NBI why they took these threats seriously, asking if Duterte was merely joking.  However, lawyer Mark Vinluan, a member of the panel defending Duterte, objected to the line of questioning as it was supposedly leading inquiry.

Presiding officer and Senator-judge Francis Escudero sustained Vinluan’s objection.

Duterte’s threats, contained in Article IV of the Articles for Impeachment, is the first topic to be discussed by the Senate Impeachment Court.  Lotoc, meanwhile, is the second witness presented by the prosecution panel, with the first witness being NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung — another member of the team that investigated the threats.

Duterte’s remarks came during an online briefing last November 23, 2024, as she lashed out at the Marcos couple and Romualdez after her chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, was detained on the House premises.

Lopez’s detention came after she was cited for contempt by the House committee on good government and public accountability of the 19th Congress, for allegedly committing undue interference during the panel’s investigation into alleged misuse of confidential funds within Duterte’s offices.

At one point, Duterte was asked if she is not concerned about her safety.  In response, the Vice President said that they should not worry about her security as she has already talked to a person to kill the President, the First Lady, and the former Speaker, if she herself got killed.

The defense panel has maintained that Duterte’s statements were part of free speech, but several government officials and the prosecution team believe it was a grave threat — regardless of whether or not the Vice President executed a contract with an assassin to kill the three.

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Last Wednesday, prosecution team member and San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora said that the prosecution panel believes that her statements alone constituted an impeachable offense. /mr