MANILA — A National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official testified before the Senate impeachment court on Monday that the agency concluded Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio had the intent, motive, and capability to carry out her threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Jeremy Lotoc, now the NBI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional director and former chief of the bureau’s Cybercrime Division, appeared as a prosecution witness on the fourth day of Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial.
“The NBI, in its analysis, established the intent, motive, and capability of the Vice President to carry out the threats she mentioned,” Lotoc told the impeachment court.
Lotoc said investigators reviewed Duterte-Carpio’s public statements and also conducted an open-source investigation to determine whether she had made similar remarks before.
According to the witness, investigators found an Oct. 18, 2024 Office of the Vice President press conference in which Duterte-Carpio said she wanted to “cut his head” while referring to President Marcos.
Lotoc also recalled Duterte-Carpio’s statements during a Nov. 23, 2024 online press conference.
“Huwag kang mag-alala, ma’am, sa security ko sapagkat may kinausap na akong tao. Ang sabi ko sa kaniya, ‘Pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Marcos, si Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, ma’am. Ang sabi ko sa kaniya, ‘Pag namatay ako, huwag kang tumigil hangga’t ‘di mo sila mapapatay,’ and he said yes,” Lotoc quoted Duterte-Carpio as saying.
Lotoc further testified that government agencies considered the Vice President’s remarks to be credible enough to warrant security concerns.
He said the Presidential Communications Office categorized the statements as an “active threat” while both the PCO and the Philippine National Police referred to an “assassin” in their respective assessments.
Before Lotoc took the witness stand, private prosecutor Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan outlined the prosecution’s purpose in presenting the NBI official.
“Dineklara ng Bise Presidente na siya ay kumontrata na ng isang tao para patayin ang Pangulo ng Republika ng Pilipinas, ang Unang Ginang, at ang dating Speaker ng House of Representatives,” Ligutan said.
Ligutan said the prosecution also intended to establish the NBI’s findings regarding the alleged threats.
“Pangatlo, napag-alaman ng NBI na ang mga banta ng Bise Presidente ay seryoso at totoo,” he said.
Lotoc testified that the NBI launched its investigation on Nov. 23, 2024, the same day Duterte made the controversial remarks during an online press conference streamed on former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s Facebook page.
He said he instructed Senior NBI Agent John Mark Calilung to preserve the digital evidence, including the video of the livestream, while investigators also identified those present during the broadcast and analyzed Duterte-Carpio’s statements as part of the probe./PN
