Vice President told to explain by Friday
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday formally asked Vice President Sara Duterte to appear at its office in Pasay City to explain her early Saturday morning statement that she has hired someone to kill President Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez if something bad happens to her.
Operatives of the NBI Special Task Force served the subpoena to Duterte yesterday. It was received by a staff in her office in Mandaluyong City.
The one-page subpoena signed by NBI Director Jaime Santiago and dated November 25, stated: “Under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by Republic Act 10867, you are hereby commanded to be and appear in the Office of the Director, Bldg D., 9th Floor Filinvest Cyberzone Bay City, Diosdado Macapagal Blvd, Pasay City, Philippines at 9 a.m. on the 29th day of November 2024 then and there to give your evidence in (the) investigation to be held at that time and place, conducted by the undersigned.”
The NBI said the subpoena was issued on grounds of grave threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and possible violation of RA 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
According to the NBI, the subpoena was supposed to be served Monday at the House of Representatives where Duterte attended the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on the alleged misuse of funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when Duterte was still the education secretary in 2023.
However, they were told the Vice President had already left the hearing and had gone back to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, where her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez is confined.
The NBI is investigating the remarks of the Vice President which she made on early Saturday morning in a virtual press conference, where she slammed the House panel’s transfer to transfer Lopez to the Women’s Correctional in Mandaluyong from the House’s detention center where she was detained after being cited in contempt.
During the press conference, Duterte said she had hired someone to kill the Marcos couple and Romualdez in case she gets killed. She had accused that Romualdez was behind the smear campaign against her in relation to the 2028 presidential elections.
On Monday, Duterte already backtracked and clarified that her controversial statement was not a threat to Marcos, adding she only highlighted the alleged threat to her life.
She also explained that her statement was “taken out of its logical context,” and that the “Marcos administration’s insistence that the President’s life is under active threat is ominous.”
The NBI has confirmed the authenticity of the video where Duterte made her threatening remarks against the President and has asked the social media platform Facebook to preserve the said video so it could be used as evidence in its investigation.
Last month, Duterte also said she wanted to cut off the President’s head when he refused to give his watch to a graduating cadet of the Philippine Military Academy that they attended.
Marcos has said that Duterte’s remarks were “troubling,” while Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said they consider her statement as an active threat to Marcos.
The National Security Council has said that the kill remarks can be considered as a matter of national security.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla tapped the NBI “to thoroughly investigate the matter, and hunt down the supposed assassins contracted by the Vice President, to make them accountable.”
NO PERSON OF INTEREST
Santiago yesterday said there is no person of interest yet in its ongoing investigation. He said that aside from asking Duterte to explain her remarks, they would also want to ask her about the supposed hitman that she has hired.
“Wala pa po tayong person of interest. Kaya yan ang reason bakit gusto naming makausap si pangalawang pangulo natin, VP Sara Duterte (We have no person of interest yet. That is why we wanted to talk to our vice president, VP Sara Duterte),” Santiago told radio DZBB.
“Yan ang gusto namin maliwanagan sa kanya, kasi ang pagbabanta sa pinakamataas na lider is a serious matter (We want to clarify things with her because threatening the lift of the country’s top elected leader is a serious matter),” he added.
He, however, said they do not expect Duterte to name the hitman. “Pero umaasa pa rin kami na magpapaliwanag si VP Sara, kung bakit siya nakapagsalita ng gano’n (But we’re still hoping that VP Sara would explain why she made such remarks),” the NBI chief added.
Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon said Duterte will be accorded due process.
“Our mandate is to make sure that due process is observed in all instances. A subpoena shall be issued, and she will be given an opportunity to present her side,” he said
‘CONDITIONAL THREAT’
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said Duterte “kept on laughing” upon learning that the NBI will summon her.
In an interview outside the VMMC, Dela Rosa said she informed Duterte about the NBI’s plan. “I informed her this morning (Tuesday) and kept on laughing…What crime did she commit? She will be killed first before she commits a crime. By that time, she’s already dead. Who will be accountable? That’s the premise, it’s conditional, you will kill me, and I kill you,” dela Rosa said.
DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Andres, in an interview with Teleradyo, rebuked Dela Rosa and said that there is no such thing as a conditional threat.
“A threat is a threat. There is no such thing as a conditional threat. If I say I’ll kill you because I don’t like your face is still a threat,” he said, adding that the essence of a threat lies in its intention to cause harm rather than any condition attached to it.
Andres said that while Duterte has clarified that her statements are not threats to the life of Marcos, her pronouncement still constitutes as a threat because she mentioned about hiring the services of an assassin.
“She said it in no uncertain terms. When she finished speaking, she said it’s true, no joke. So, it is a threat to the President,” Andres said, adding that she started executing the threat when she said she has engaged the services of a hitman.
“The threat speaks for itself. If you watch it she looks very serious. The words were very clear and again there is no such thing as a conditional threat,” he said.
NO THREAT TO VP’S LIFE
The PNP said it has no information about the supposed threat on the life of Duterte. “On the part of the PNP, we have not received such information,” PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo told a radio interview.
Fajardo presumed that if the threat exists, this have been already relayed to the Vice Presidential Security Group (VPSG) which is under the Presidential Security Command (PSC).
Fajardo noted that the PSC is in charge of the security of the President and the Vice President.
“If there is a really a threat, we are assuming and presuming that this was already relayed to the Vice Presidential Security Group under the Presidential Security Command because the Presidential Security Command is in charge of the security of the Vice President and the President,” said Fajardo.
“If there is an existing and current threat against the life of the Vice President, we hope it’s already communicated to the Presidential Security Command so they can take action,” added Fajardo.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the PSC which is under the Armed Forces will perform its mandate to secure both the President and the Vice President.
“Its mandate is to protect the President and the Vice President. This (protection) is not based on certain personalities but based on position,” said Padilla.
“The mission of the Presidential Security Command is to protect the President and other dignitaries from harm and embarrassment. And that is the role that each of the personnel will play,” she said. – With Raymond Africa and Victor Reyes
