With or sans VP, NBI probe proceeding

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday the investigation into the alleged kill threat issued by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will proceed even if she skips the rescheduled hearing.

As this developed, the Department of Justice, which oversees the NBI, said it will issue more subpoenas to those personalities that may shed light on the revelation of Duterte that she had ordered a hit on the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez, if she herself is killed.

Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres said the investigation will focus not only on Duterte’s remarks against the First Couple and Romualdez, but also on her claim that there was a plot to kill her.

“The threat she is claiming should have been recorded in a police blotter or reported to the Presidential Security Command for follow-up investigation,” Andres said.

Last Friday, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said they will summon at least 10 to 12 individuals who participated in the midnight press conference on Zoom where VP Duterte disclosed that she had instructed someone to kill Marcos and the others if she herself were killed.

Santiago said those who asked questions during the press conference, identified through their photos, will be summoned in batches to give their side.

The Office of the Ombudsman, Andres maintained, could take over the investigation of Duterte, but only for offenses under its jurisdiction, such as plunder, bribery, graft, and other offenses committed by public officials.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires, who was appointed by former president Rodrigo Duterte, the VP’s father, had said that he could take over the investigation of the Vice President at any time.

Duterte will be investigated for grave threats, inciting to sedition, and possible violation of the anti-terror law, which are “personal acts not under the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman,” Andres explained.

“We will not back down. We will fight for justice, accountability, and the rule of law,” Andres said in an interview over TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

Duterte earlier claimed that her statements against the Marcoses and Romualdez were “taken out of context” and expressed concern that the “Marcos administration’s insistence that the President’s life was under active threat is ominous.”

She had asked the NBI for more time to face the investigation and asked the agency to provide her with their questions in advance.

The NBI invited Duterte to a hearing on 29 November, but she said she had previously scheduled engagements. The NBI reset the meeting for 11 December.

On Monday, the NBI said it subpoenaed Duterte anew to ensure her attendance in the 11 December meeting at the agency office.