Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday admitted that it has yet to find the alleged hitman that Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly contracted to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and some of his family members.NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc — the agency’s former Cybercrime Division chief — gave the statement after several senator judges asked if investigators have found an actual person designated to carry out the President’s assassination.“We tried to illicit information. Unfortunately wala po kami ma establish na validated information. In fact hanggang ngayon nag aantay kami,” Lotoc said.“Whether or not na execute na o may nautusan, I think ang makakasagot niyan ay ang aming direktor… dahil ang impormasyon na yan ay nasa intelligence namin,” he said.NBI Director Melvin Matibag had earlier asked the court to move his appearance to July 14 as he is scheduled to travel abroad for an international conference, but the impeachment chamber ruled that the chief investigator may only be summoned on July 20 to comply with their 5-day advance notice for both the prosecution and the defense.But Lotoc said that the crime of grave threats continue to stand whether or not authorities could locate the alleged hitman.“If the second highest official of the land ang nagsabi niyan, hindi biro yan,” Lotoc said, adding that Duterte’s position in government makes the threat “absolute.”“We believe that those utterances have the tendency to stir other people to go against the government, have tendency to disturb the peace of the community, and have tendency to undermine public safety and public order,” he said.“I think those are elements to inciting to sedition.”Other senator judges questioned the defense panel why the Vice President has yet to issue a clear-cut denial that there was any truth to the threats she issued in an online press conference in November 2024.“There is… but we reserve our right to present our evidence at the proper time,” said Atty. Mark Vinluan, one of Duterte’s defense lawyers.Meantime, the NBI was also asked if it also looked into Duterte’s allegations that she, too, has been a target of alleged threats.“Nag conduct kami ng open source. Wala kaming navalidate aside doon sa pag aalis ng security personnel ng VPSG (Vice Presidential Security Group) na nilipat sa manila,” Lotoc said.“Ang hindi ko po alam ay kung yung intelligence service namin ay mayroon o yung direktor namin ay may alam.”Sen. Imee Marcos, on the other hand, flagged why a subpoena and an affidavit were dated November 6 or about 2 weeks before the Vice President’s online press conference.Lotoc dismissed the issue as a typographical error, saying that all subpoenas were issued on December 6.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday admitted that it has yet to find the alleged hitman that Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly contracted to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and some of his family members.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday admitted that it has yet to find the alleged hitman that Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly contracted to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and some of his family members.

Still no trace of Sara Duterte’s alleged contracted hitman, NBI says

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Still no trace of Sara Duterte’s alleged contracted hitman, NBI says

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 13, 2026 08:59 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Duterte Impeachment Trial

Senate

NBI

Jeremy Lotoc

National Bureau of Investigation

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