Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday questioned whether Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged grave threats could have caused fear among their purported targets, noting that her statements were conditional and would take effect only if she were killed.
Cayetano raised the issue during the continuation of Duterte’s impeachment trial as he questioned National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc about the bureau’s assessment of the Vice President’s statements.
“My point is, in your investigation, to be grave threats, the party being threatened must feel threatened. But VP Sara said: ‘if they will (kill) me, kill the three of them.’ So, if they have no plan to kill her, why would they feel threatened? Did that not come into your mind as an investigator?” Cayetano said.
Lotoc said the NBI classified the statement as an “event-based condition” that posed a risk to national security.
He explained that if Duterte were to die under any circumstance, certain groups could exploit her public statements to attack the leaders she named and blame the administration.
Cayetano countered that if the purported assassination would be triggered by Duterte’s death, it would make no sense to suggest that the Vice President would arrange her own killing merely to set the alleged plot in motion.
“To trigger the assassination of the President, you’re saying that VP Sara is asking other people to kill her so that they can kill Marcos. She would have just said ‘Kill Marcos.’ It is not logical that the event that will trigger the assassination is the killing of the Vice President and she will not tell people ‘kill me so that you can kill them,” Cayetano said.
Senator-judge Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, asked whether the NBI continued investigating the alleged threats against Duterte after she failed to personally appear in response to the bureau’s invitation.
“Even if our Vice President did not personally appear, what was the effect of this on your investigation regarding the threats against her life? I want to know, did the NBI continue its investigation?” Villanueva said.
Lotoc said the bureau found no concrete security risk to the Vice President. He added that the investigation stalled because her camp neither provided actionable leads nor appeared for questioning.
Villanueva urged the NBI to give the alleged threats against Duterte the same level of attention accorded to the statements involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials.
“I feel that it is important to show the public that we gave the same level of attention. If we need to walk the extra mile in investigating, we have to do it in the name of fairness,” Villanueva said.
Lotoc said the reactions and statements issued by intelligence and government agencies following Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 online press conference showed that her remarks were viewed as potentially undermining public safety and public order.
He said this prompted the investigation into possible inciting to sedition.
“And then Your Honor, whether it would undermine public safety and public order, which is malinaw po doon sa comments and reactions n hating government agencies like the PNP, like the National Security Council at ganoon din yung Presidential Communications Office (PCO). So, pinapakita po nila doon na alarming yung situwasyon. It’s an active threat. At the same time, it’s a matter of national security at hindi ho ito dapat palampasin. In fact, may classification pa nga yung ibang agency natin na ang kinausap is assassin, both the PNP and the PCO. So sila, nakalampag po sila, itong mga government agency na ito, doon sa utterances na ginawa ng Vice President,” Lotoc said.
“And then, Your Honor, whether it would undermine public safety and public order, which is clear in the comments and reactions of our government agencies like the PNP, like the National Security Council and also the Presidential Communications Office. So, they said that it is an alarming situation. It’s an active threat. At the same time, it’s a matter of national security that should not be allowed. In fact, the agencies. Both the PNP and PCO, took note that she had talked to an assassin. So, they were alarmed, our government agencies, in the utterances made by the Vice President,” he added.
Lotoc said similar reactions and expressions of alarm were observed among netizens who watched the online press conference.