Metro Manila, Philippines – The missing link in the impeachment trial over Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged grave threats — the identity of the person she allegedly contacted to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. if she were killed — may finally be established when National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag takes the witness stand, House lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro said.
Speaking to NewsWatch Plus on Friday, July 17, Luistro said even members of the prosecution panel are “very much interested” to hear Matibag’s testimony.
“Kung maaalala niyo during the testimony of Atty. Lotoc, palagi siyang tinatanong, nakilala ba kung sino ang taong kinausap? Sino ba itong assassin? So that is why we’re anticipating na ano man ang testimonya ni NBI Director, malalaman natin kung nakilala ba o hindi itong taong kinausap ng bise presidente upang isagawa ang naging laman ng kanyang pagbabago or threat,” Luistro said.
[Translation: During Atty’s testimony. Lotoc, he was repeatedly asked: Was the person she allegedly contacted identified? Who is this alleged assassin? That is why we are anticipating that whatever testimony NBI Director Matibag gives, we will find out whether or not the person Vice President Duterte allegedly contacted to carry out the threat was identified.]
She was referring to former NBI Cybercrime Division head Jeremy Lotoc, who was extensively cross-examined by Duterte’s lawyers this week. The defense pressed Lotoc on whether he had personal knowledge that Duterte actually contacted an assassin.
In a November 2024 online press conference that was presented as evidence in the trial, Duterte said she had spoken to someone to kill the president, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed.
During a House justice committee hearing in April, Matibag said the NBI was conducting surveillance as part of efforts to determine the identity of the alleged hired assassin. Duterte’s lawyers, however, denied that the vice president contracted a hitman, arguing that she never used the term. They also rejected calling her statement a threat, saying it was instead a response to what she believed was a government plot against her and her family.
Members of the prosecution panel have repeatedly argued that even without confirming the identity of the alleged assassin, Duterte may still be held liable for grave threats based on the statements she made during her online press conference, which they said constitute high crime, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution.
Luistro said she hopes Matibag’s testimony will focus solely on the impeachment proceedings and will not be affected by the NBI’s separate investigation on alleged anomalies related to the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, an issue that led to a word war between Matibag and Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano, who headed the event’s organizing committee.
“Huwag tayo malito. Ang usapin dito sa impeachment trial [Let us not be confused. The issue here in the impeachment trial] is the fitness of the Vice President to continue serving as such as well as to run for any public office in the future,” Luistro said.
