National security agencies treated Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as serious and a matter of national security, a National Bureau of Investigation official told the Senate impeachment court on Monday.
Testifying on the fourth day of Duterte’s impeachment trial, NBI regional director Jeremy Lotoc detailed his team’s findings on statements made by the Vice President during an online news conference on Nov. 23, 2024.
Duterte said she had arranged for Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez to be killed if she herself were assassinated.
Responding to questions from prosecution counsel Atty. Amando Virgil Ligutan, Lotoc said the National Security Council, Philippine National Police, and Armed Forces of the Philippines issued statements expressing concern over Duterte’s remarks.
Lotoc quoted the NSC as saying: “The National Security Council considers all threats to the President of the Philippines as serious.
“Any and all threats against the life of the President shall be validated and considered a matter of national security.”
He said the PNP described the person Duterte claimed to have contracted as an assassin.
“The PNP used the term assassin,” Lotoc said.
He then read the police statement: “The Philippine National Police treats any threat to the safety and security of the President and all public officials with utmost seriousness.
“In light of Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent statements, which directly referenced an assassin contracted to target the President, the PNP recognizes the grave nature of this matter.
“The safety of the President is a national concern and any direct or indirect threat to his life must be addressed with the highest level of urgency.”
Lotoc also cited a statement from AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.: “The Armed Forces of the Philippines is a professional organization focused on its mandate to protect the people and the state. Our personnel is loyal to the constitution and the chain of command.”