MANILA, Philippines — Senator-Judge Bam Aquino questioned the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over its failure to identify the person Vice President Sara Duterte had allegedly hired to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The Senate Impeachment Court on Monday heard the testimony of NBI-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc on Duterte's threat against the President.
On the fourth day of the impeachment trial of the Vice President, the House prosecution presented Lotoc as its second witness on Article IV, threat against the President, that it filed against Duterte.
Lotoc was NBI cybercrime division chief in 2024 when he led the investigation on Duterte's threat against the President which she made on online.
In a virtual press briefing on Nov. 23, 2026, Duterte said she hired someone "to kill" the President, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then House speaker Martin Romualdez if something bad happens to her.
Aquino said that given the gravity of the statements attributed to the Vice President, the NBI should have established concrete findings.
“My question is focused on the person who was spoken to or allegedly contracted by Vice President Sara Duterte to kill the President, First Lady, and former Speaker. Did you continue the investigation to find this person?” Aquino asked Lontoc.
Lotoc admitted that the NBI had failed to validate or confirm the details regarding the alleged hitman despite issuing subpoenas to media personalities who witnessed the online press conference.
Aquino noted that while the actual broadcast clearly documented the Vice President's utteranves against the President, the failure of the NBI to identify the alleged hitman leaves the threat unverified.
“So what you mean to say is that, as the NBI, you were not able to find this person. But you based your assessment on the statement because it was explicitly stated by the Vice President herself,” Aquino said.
Lotoc said the NBI treated the remarks with absolute seriousness due to the extreme anger and profanity displayed by the Vice President.
He said that the investigation remains open while awaiting actionable data from the public or involved parties.
