The so-called “Oplan Romanov,” or the alleged covert operation purportedly aimed at eliminating Vice President Sara Duterte and her family, originated with her brother, Davao Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, and was actually a threat against the First Family, a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official said Tuesday.

NBI regional director Jeremy Lotoc was the second witness of the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Duterte with regard to alleged grave threats under Article 4.

Lotoc told the Senate court the NBI had carried out an open-source investigation to ascertain the veracity of the alleged plot against the life of Duterte, which was raised by a vlogger named Princess Maiu during a 23 November 2024 online press briefing.

“Insofar as our investigation is concerned, it started with Mayor Baste. And because we could not validate any other Romanov operations, I think it originated with them, with the Vice President’s brother,” Lotoc said.

In that briefing, Maui advised Vice President Duterte to remain vigilant, citing alleged reports of an “Oplan Romanov” targeting her and her family amid their deepening rift with the Marcos administration.

Bolshevik revolutionaries executed the Romanov family, Russia’s last imperial dynasty, in July 1918.

Duterte responded that there was no need to fret because she had already contracted a hitman to take revenge for her and kill President Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and then Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Her remarks form one of the four articles of impeachment against her, with the prosecution alleging they constitute high crimes, an impeachable offense.

Before the NBI recommended the filing of grave threats and inciting to sedition against the VP with the Department of Justice, Lotoc said the bureau launched separate probes into the threats leveled against the President and the Vice President.

A comprehensive investigation into the VP’s case was not pursued because Maui did not cooperate with the bureau on the details of the supposed “Romanov” operations. Lotoc said the NBI invited Maui, but she did not appear.

According to the NBI official, the vlogger’s information was “not reliable, insofar as the Cybercrime Division was concerned.”