Vice President Sara Duterte. Photo: Office of the Vice President

MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has recommended the filing of inciting to sedition and grave threats cases against Vice President Sara Duterte over her controversial kill plot against President Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez late last year. 

The team composed by NBI Director Jaime Santiago, after thorough investigation, arrived at a unanimous conclusion to recommend filing of cases against the Vice President before the Department of Justice. 

“Na-i-file na po namin sa DOJ ang kaso at nasa DOJ na ang bola ngayon,” Santiago said Wednesday. 

The DOJ will then determine if a preliminary investigation will pursue leading to filing of charges in court. 

“Titimbangin ng DOJ kung ‘yung aming mga inilatag na ebidensya, ‘yung aming investigation ay sufficient,” Santiago said. 

The final report has been filed before the DOJ earlier today. 

Inday’s ‘threatening remarks’ sufficient evidence 

Despite questions about the supposed conditionality of the threat, Santiago said her “threatening remarks” were enough to satisfy the requirements for filing grave threats.  

“Yes, kasi open source intelligence ‘yun ano. There was really a zoom meeting kung saan niya kung saan niya sinabi ‘yung mga threatening remarks niya,” Santiago said. 

Moreover, Duterte’s threat that seemed as if an invitation to the public to go against the government is enough to substantiate incitement to sedition.

‘Yung pagkaka threaten niya sa Pangulo, na-incite ‘yung kanyang mga followers, ‘yung nga ibang tao na para bang gusto na nila mag alsa,” he said. 

The NBI chief believes the investigation has yielded strong evidence strongly meriting cases in court. 

“Product po ‘yun ng judicial weighing ng ating mga abugado, ‘yung nag compose ng amin investigation team. Palagay ko naman ho ay meron kaming sapat na ebidensya,” Santiago said. 

The DOJ amended rules on preliminary investigation and inquest proceedings replacing standard of proof from probable cause to prima facie evidence in 2024. This higher threshold of evidence requires proof that will lead to certainty of conviction beyond reasonable doubt. 

Santiago said he is confident that their evidence satisfies this new investigation requirement. 

“Kami sa panig namin, iniisip namin at naniniwala kami na sapat ang aming mga ebidensyang inilatag,” Santiago said. 

Santiago added that cases indeed ought to be filed since Duterte is the first Vice President ever to threaten the life of a sitting President. 

Gunman unidentified

In her remarks, Duterte mentioned hiring a gunman to murder the President, First Lady and the House Speaker the moment she gets killed. 

Tracking down the mystery gunman is among the priorities of the NBI in this case, Santiago said. 

“Yung inutusan ni VP Sara diumano na gagawa ng assassination, ay hindi naman identified. Sa ngayon kay Ma’am VP sino ba ‘yung initusan mo ma’am?” Santiago said. 

Also part if the reason why NBI invited the participants in the zoom presscon is for possibility that the gunman could be present in the meeting. 

“At kaya namin pinatawag ‘yung mga vloggers at media personnel na nandun. Baka nung nagsasalita si VP, nandoon ‘yung tao ma-identify nila matulungan kami,” Santiago said. 

Duterte never showed up in the invitations of the NBI believing the agency’s investigation “will not be fair” since it is directly reporting to the administration. 

On November 11, Duterte said she cannot go due to conflicts with a hearing at the House of Representatives and asked for a rescheduling. 

On December 11, Duterte was again a no show and justified that her presence will no longer matter because authorities had already “predetermined filing cases.”