The National Bureau of Investigation did not review a video in which Vice President Sara Duterte said she feared for her family's safety before making the remarks that triggered criminal charges against her, the agency's lead investigator acknowledged on Tuesday.

The admission came during the cross-examination of NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, whose investigation into Duterte's Nov. 23, 2024 online remarks forms part of the evidence underpinning both the criminal case and the impeachment complaint against the vice president.

Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan played a video of Duterte appealing for protection for her family after the Philippine National Police withdrew dozens of officers assigned to her security detail in mid-2024. 

In the video, Duterte said she feared her family, particularly her children, could become targets of physical attacks or online harassment after the recall of 75 police officers from her personal protection team.

Asked whether the bureau had encountered the earlier video during its open-source investigation, Lotoc replied that it had not.

Vinluan also challenged the NBI's finding that Duterte acted with criminal intent despite investigators never interviewing her.

"And despite not having interviewed her, you made findings on her mental state?" he asked.

Lotoc said investigators drew their conclusions from Duterte's public statements and other evidence gathered during the investigation.

The defense further questioned the bureau's finding that Duterte's alleged threats were "persistent," noting that investigators relied not only on the Nov. 23 livestream but also on statements from an Oct. 18, 2024 press conference.

Lotoc testified that investigators compared the two appearances, citing Duterte's earlier statement telling someone not to stop "until you kill them," as well as another public remark in which she spoke about imagining herself cutting someone. Taken together, the statements showed consistency, he said.

Vinluan also pressed Lotoc on the bureau's use of "open-source investigation," confirming that it included reviewing news reports, websites, social media content and YouTube videos.

The defense has increasingly focused on challenging the NBI's investigative methods rather than disputing that Duterte made the statements. 

Earlier in the trial, Duterte's lawyers questioned the bureau's impartiality, disputed its interpretation of her remarks and argued that investigators failed to establish any overt act showing an actual assassination plot.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, contend Duterte's statements went beyond political rhetoric and constituted a real and credible threat against the president and two other senior officials, amounting to a betrayal of public trust and supporting one of the articles of impeachment.

The trial, the first impeachment trial of a sitting Philippine vice president, is expected to continue this week with prosecutors presenting additional evidence on the alleged threats.