The Department of Justice (DOJ) called on the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to launch an investigation into Vice President Sara Duterte’s shocking threat against the lives of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, which entails a subpoena to give her a chance to explain herself.
During the Palace press briefing, Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres called Duterte the “self-confessed mastermind” of the assassination plot and declared she will be facing legal consequences. As of now, the NBI will summon the Vice President.
“Gagawin ng National Bureau of Investigation ang lahat ng mga hakbang para matunton ang identity nito,” Andres spoke of the hitman Duterte had allegedly contracted. “Kasama ang pag-iisyu ng subpoena kay Vice President Sara na humarap sa NBI para bigyan ng kaliwanagan ang kanyang mga pananalita dahil po diretsuhan niyang sinabi na siya po ay kumuha na ng tao na siya pong gagawa ng pagpatay, hindi lang po sa Pangulo, kasama po ang ating First Lady, at ang ating Speaker of the House, ay hindi po tamang pananalita na nanggagaling po sa napakataas na opisyales ng ating bayan.”
(The National Bureau of Investigation will take all steps to trace this person’s identity, including the issuance of a subpoena for Vice President Sara to face the NBI to shed light on her speech as she directly stated she had hired someone to kill not only the President, but also our First Lady, and our Speaker of the House. This is not acceptable speech, coming from such a high official of our country.)
The NBI has already conducted an initial investigation as to the video’s authenticity, Andres stated. NBI Director Jaime Santiago previously confirmed the video was not a deepfake.
“Maybe we can report what we have validated with respect to the authenticity of the video which was aired in many platforms in social media to make sure that we are giving due process and we are ascertaining that the video is indeed genuine and the utterances of the Vice President,” Andres said.
On Friday, Duterte assured supporters urging her to stay safe within the premises of the House of Representatives. She added that should a plot to kill her succeed, an assassin would come for the First couple’s and House Speaker’s lives.
