Marilyn Cahatol

Vice President Sara Duterte joins Former President and Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the 2025 KASARILAYAAN Pride Reception on Wednesday, June 25, at the LausGroup Event Centre in San Fernando, Pampanga. 

The annual gathering brings together LGBTQIA+ community leaders, advocates, and allies to celebrate Pride Month and highlight ongoing efforts toward inclusivity, equality, and the empowerment of the LGBTQIA+ sector.
Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

PRIDE MONTH EVENT- VP Sara

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177745336443920241126-vpsd-presson-MT-3.jpg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Vice President Sara Duterte addresses the media at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on November 26, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Vice President Sara Duterte addresses the media at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on November 26, 2024. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>2nd UPDATE</strong>) — The National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday said it was following leads on the individual that Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly hired to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.</p><p>The alleged death threat against Marcos stems from a late-night press briefing in which Duterte claimed to have hired an assassin to kill the President and members of his family should he have her cut down first. </p><p>While the vice president has said the comments were misinterpreted, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the agency was &quot;trying to identify and pinpoint the assassin.&quot; </p><p>&quot;We have leads already. We have some personalities that we have surveillance at sinusundan po namin,&quot; he said during the House Committee on Justice&#x27;s clarificatory hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte. </p><p>&quot;We are zeroing on several individuals already na maaaring iyon po ang kinausap niya dun sa threat na ginawa po niya,&quot; Matibag said, noting that he could not disclose any name. </p><p>&quot;If you recall, meron pong mention, it&#x27;s not been denied, na meron pong itinayong parang vice presidential security group, yung sarili niya security group. Yun na lang, in general, we are looking into those individuals in the close associations of the Vice President,&quot; he added. </p><p>The NBI earlier confirmed that the video of Duterte&#x27;s alleged assassination threat against Marcos had been &quot;authenticated&quot; and it was not spliced or altered.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/29/vp-duterte-s-designated-survivor-remark-raised-in-house-hearing-1510">READ: Another threat? VP Duterte&#x27;s &#x27;designated survivor&#x27; remark raised in House hearing</a></div><p>In the video, Duterte said: &quot;May kinausap na ako na tao. Sabi ko sa kaniya, kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Aranate, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. Pag namatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Ini-ensure po namin na hindi po siya edited or spliced, or AI-generated,&quot; NBI official John Mark Calilung said. </p><p>Calilung said the agency had coordinated with social media giant Meta to preserve the URL of Duterte&#x27;s press conference. </p><p>NBI also conducted hash value calculation in the video, which Calilung likened to creating fingerprints of digital files to ensure that the video would be flagged if edited.</p><div> </div><div><strong>&#x27;ALL THREATS TO THE PRESIDENT SERIOUS&#x27; </strong></div><p>The NBI&#x27;s affidavit of investigation on Duterte&#x27;s alleged assassination plot said that &quot;[t]he National Security Council considers all threats to the President of the Philippines as serious.&quot; </p><p>FPJ Panday Bayanihan party-list Rep. Brian Poe noted that the panel should take Duterte&#x27;s threats seriously as &quot;this will take precedence on how we deal with matters of national security.&quot;</p><p>The lawmaker, in his manifestation, mentioned the arrest of a teacher who offered a bounty for allegedly threatening the life of former President Rodrigo Duterte. </p><p>&quot;He was not a public official, he was an ordinary Filipino citizen. This committee has to take into consideration that moment…because we are sending a message with the decision that we make today on probable cause,&quot; Poe said.</p><p>&quot;We in the law enforcement, the National Bureau of Investigation, we consider all threats to the President and to any official of the government as serious threats. Hindi po ito pwedeng biro-biro,&quot; Matibag said. </p><p>NBI filed inciting to sedition and grave threat complaints against the Vice President in February 2025 for her alleged threats on the President&#x27;s life.</p><p>Several members of the House Committee on Justice asserted Duterte’s alleged grave threats against the President constitute an impeachable offense.</p><p>&quot;It finally reveals Sara Duterte at her most transparent and unfiltered moment and para sa akin po, this is not an aberrant attitude of a Duterte. In fact it is their trademark character,&quot; said ML Party List Representative Leila de Lima.</p><p>&quot;Sa akin po, ito ang pinakamalalang ground for impeachment. Dahil pinakita nito ang kawalan ng tamang pag-iisip... Hindi lamang pagbabanta sa buhay ng Pangulo ang ating nasaksihan noong gabing yun... kundi ang lagim na kinakaharap ng ating bayan sa ilalim ng isa na namang Duterte,&quot; she added.</p><p>&quot;Kung hindi tama ang ugaling ito para sa second highest official of t he land, mas lalong hindi po ito karapat-dapat para sa isang tao na nag-aambisyon na maging highest official of the land,&quot; Akbayan Party List Representative Percival Cendana added.</p><p>&quot;This is not simply a threat that is defined under the revised penal code. But this is an impeachable offense which violates the Constitution. Thus, it is betrayal of public trust. Thus, it is a high crime,&quot; House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor asserted.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DOJ RESOLUTION</strong></div><p>In a separate interview, Matibag said they are still awaiting the Department of Justice&#x27;s (DOJ) resolution on the complaints of inciting to sedition and grave threats  they filed against the Vice President last year.</p><p>He said they need the DOJ resolution so they could file a case in a court, which would be the basis for a possible arrest warrant against the Vice President.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/15/coa-nbi-findings-point-to-probable-cause-to-impeach-duterte-lawmakers-2211">READ: COA, NBI findings point to probable cause to impeach Duterte — lawmakers</a></div><p>&quot;Nandoon muna tayo sa criminal case na finile natin sa DOJ so we are just waiting for the resolution,&quot; Matibag told reporters in a chance interview.</p><p>Asked how soon this could happen, the NBI chief said it depends on the DOJ.</p><p>&quot;We are praying na sana mailabas na,&quot; he said. &quot;May procedure sila, I cannot speak on their procedure.&quot;</p><p>For his part, Justice Spokesperson Polo Martinez said the DOJ already has a resolution on the complaints.</p><p>&quot;There is already a resolution but is currently pending review with the division chief, which will then be transmitted to the prosecutor general,&quot; Martinez told reporters.</p><p>&quot;No further submissions to be filed. There is already a resolution,&quot; he said in a text message. -- <strong>with a report from Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DiEIXMeBjAo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday said it was following leads on the individual that Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly hired to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.</p>

The National Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday said it was following leads on the individual that Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly hired to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

NBI following leads on alleged ‘assassin’ in Duterte threat vs Marcos

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NBI following leads on alleged ‘assassin’ in Duterte threat vs Marcos

Marilyn Cahatol,

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 29, 2026 01:15 PM PHT

|

Updated April 29, 2026 09:14 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

impeachment

House of Representatives

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