Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo on Tuesday said the phrase “Operation Romanov” appeared to have originated from Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and was used as a warning to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family.
During the fifth day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, Tulfo noted that Mayor Duterte publicly referred to the Romanov dynasty during a Maisug peace rally in Davao City on Jan. 24, 2024.
The senator said this appeared inconsistent with vlogger Princess Maui’s reference to “Operation Romanov” during the Vice President’s Nov. 23, 2024 online press conference, when she presented it as a possible threat against Duterte.
Tulfo raised the issue while questioning National Bureau of Investigation-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc, who testified for a second consecutive day.
Tulfo asked why Princess Maui had warned the Vice President about the alleged operation when the term had first been mentioned by Mayor Duterte.
“So, which is which, Mr. Witness? Para sa iyo saan ba talaga yung Romanov nag-umpisa at sino ba talaga dapat mag-ingat doon sa banta ng Romanov?” Tulfo asked.
Lotoc recalled Mayor Duterte telling the Marcos family during the rally: “‘When you go to bed tonight, think about the Romanovs.’”
“Parang sinasabi niya ba baka mangyari sa pamilya niyo yun gaya nang nangyari sa inyo nung 1986. Kung tama memory ko, parang ganon ang sinasabi ni Mayor Baste,” Lotoc said.
Lotoc said the NBI investigated the statement but found no evidence of an actual operation called “Romanov.”
“Wala kaming ma-validate na ibang Romanov operations na nangyari. I think nag-start yan sa kanila, sir, sa kapatid ng Bise Presidente,” he said.
Tulfo then said the term appeared to have been directed at the First Family.
“I just want to make it clear, Mr. Presiding Officer, na yung threat na yun, yung Romanov na salita, it was used to warn, as a threat, to the First Family,” he said.
Asked whether he agreed, Lotoc replied: “Yes, sir, tama po yun.”
Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo said he initially believed Operation Romanov referred to a threat against the Vice President until testimony established that Mayor Duterte had earlier used the term.
Lotoc said the NBI conducted an open-source investigation after Princess Maui mentioned the alleged operation during Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 press conference.
The bureau invited Princess Maui to explain her statement, but she did not appear, prompting investigators to classify the claim as “non-validated information.”
“So, medyo nakita namin na, teka muna, parang baliktad yata ang situwasyon. Kung kay Mayor Baste nagsimula ang Romanov, bakit dito ito yung tinatanong ni Princess Maui sa Bise Presidente?” Lotoc said.
He added that Princess Maui’s information was not considered reliable by the NBI Cybercrime Division.
Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano, however, cautioned the impeachment court against concluding that Mayor Duterte had threatened the Marcos family, saying the Romanov reference could have been made in another context.
Cayetano noted that the Marcos family was ousted during the 1986 People Power Revolution, granted asylum in Hawaii and later allowed to return to the Philippines. He contrasted this with the Romanov dynasty, whose members were killed after the Russian Revolution.
He said authorities would likely have filed charges against Mayor Duterte if his statement had been treated as an actual threat.
“It’s fair that you mentioned him. It’s fair sa investigation mo, but I don’t think we should draw a conclusion here that Mayor Baste was threatening the First Family,” Cayetano said.
“There is a thin line between a warning and a threat. We have to be fair also to Mayor Baste and to the Dutertes rather than draw a conclusion,” he added.