An official of the Department of Justice (DoJ) on Sunday said they will issue more subpoenas in the coming days as they continue their probe into Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim of contracting someone to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez in the event she was killed.
This was revealed by Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres as the DoJ confirmed it is conducting the probe and will not stop it.
“We will issue many subpoena. Those people can be summoned earlier,” said Andres.
He said the investigation will focus not just on Duterte’s remarks against the Marcoses and Romualdez, but also her claim that there is a kill plot against her.
“The threat she is claiming should have been put in a police blotter, or it should have been coursed through the Presidential Security Command to have at least a follow-up investigation,” said Andres.
Last Friday, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago said they will summon at least 10 to 12 persons who participated in the Zoom press conference where VP Duterte uttered unsavory words against the president and disclosed that she had already contracted someone to kill him in case she was killed.
Santiago said those who asked questions during the press conference, which they identified through their pictures, will be summoned in batches to hear their side.
On the other hand, the DoJ said it will not stop its investigation into an alleged threat made by Duterte against the president, his wife, and the speaker of the House of Representatives.
Andres confirmed the Office of the Ombudsman can take over an investigation against Duterte, but only for offenses under its jurisdiction, such as plunder, bribery, graft, and other offenses by public officials.
Duterte is currently being 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,” he said.
“We will not shut up. We will fight for justice, accountability, and the rule of law,” Andres said in a televised interview.
Duterte earlier said her statement against the Marcoses and Romualdez 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."
She earlier asked the NBI for more time to face the investigation and requested the agency to provide her with the questions in advance.