FINAL WITNESS ON ARTICLE IV NBI Director Melvin Matibag notes similarities between the October 2024 remarks of Vice President Sara Duterte about imagining herself cutting off President Marcos’ head (lower right photo), and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte’s statement during the April 12 RAGE coalition rally (upper right), where he declared they wanted “only BBM’s head.” —Photos by Ñino Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution panel on Tuesday presented National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag as its final witness on Article IV of the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, with the NBI chief testifying that the bureau no longer views Duterte’s controversial “kill” remarks against President Marcos as a mere threat but as a “serious, active and continuing” assassination plot that has become a national security concern.

“Our observation is that this is no longer merely a threat but a plan,” Matibag testified in Filipino. “We believe the Vice President announced her plan to kill the President of the Philippines, as well as the other individuals she said she wanted killed during her press conference.”

The defense, however, sought more time to complete its cross-examination on Wednesday before prosecutors could formally rest their case under Article IV, which accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust over her alleged threats against Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

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READ: NBI exec: Evidence points to Sara Duterte’s kill plot against Marcos

Appearing on the eighth day of the impeachment trial, Matibag said the NBI had elevated its investigation beyond the criminal complaints for grave threats and inciting to sedition pending before the Department of Justice by creating a special task force to examine what it considers an ongoing threat against the President.

Formed in April, the task force brings together investigators from the NBI’s Cybercrime and Transnational Crimes divisions to determine whether Duterte’s public statements reflected an actual conspiracy to assassinate the President.

READ: Threats vs president also threaten national security – NBI chief

Matibag said investigators reached that conclusion after analyzing Duterte’s Oct. 18, 2024 and Nov. 23, 2024 online press conferences, in which she spoke of wanting to cut off the President’s head and later declared she had instructed someone to kill Marcos, the first lady and Romualdez should she herself be assassinated.

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Persons of interest

“It is clear from our open-source intelligence that the Vice President said she contracted someone to kill the President, and that person supposedly agreed,” Matibag said.

The NBI chief disclosed that investigators have identified several “persons of interest” who could lead authorities to the individual Duterte allegedly referred to in her November 2024 remarks.

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“We have leads that we are pursuing. In fact, we have already identified persons of interest who may be able to identify the individual the Vice President spoke to. It is also possible that one of these persons of interest is the very person the Vice President spoke with,” Matibag said.

He refused to identify them, saying disclosure could compromise the ongoing investigation.

“I cannot disclose the identities of these persons of interest. It would violate their right to privacy and compromise an ongoing investigation,” Matibag said.

“For me, this is no longer really a threat but rather a confession of her plan to kill our President because she herself said, ‘I spoke to someone, and the person I spoke to agreed to kill the President,’” Matibag added.

Defense counsel Mark Vinluan asked that the statement be stricken from the record, arguing that Matibag was offering a legal conclusion. Presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero allowed the answer to remain as part of the witness’ narration but instructed senator-judges not to treat it as a conclusion of law.

Possible conspiracy

Responding to questions from Sen. Bam Aquino, Matibag said he was “100 percent certain” Duterte had spoken to someone about carrying out the killing because “she herself revealed her plan” and said the person agreed.

He added that while the NBI has actionable intelligence indicating a continuing threat to the President’s life, it has no similar intelligence regarding any threat to Duterte.

Matibag also asserted that Duterte had the means to carry out the alleged plot because she was “well-connected” with military and police personnel and had access to money and firearms.

He testified that the NBI is also examining a possible conspiracy involving Duterte and her brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, after noting similarities in their public remarks about Marcos.

“It is noticeable that the threats against our President came from one family. Both are referring to the President’s head,” Matibag said. “That’s why we wondered if there was an accomplice or a conspiracy behind this incident.”

He said investigators considered Baste Duterte’s remarks during the April 12 RAGE coalition rally, where the mayor declared they wanted only Marcos’ “head,” and compared them with Sara Duterte’s October 2024 statements.

According to Matibag, the Vice President’s remarks also produced what he described as a “kinetic effect,” emboldening supporters to issue similar threats.

“The threat made by our VP has already had what is called an effect. Those who heard her threat are also imitating and making threats,” he said. “Their actions have the effect of stirring supporters to sow disorder and unrest in the country.”

Court admonition

Matibag said investigators also reviewed the affidavit of confessed Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas in assessing what he described as Duterte’s “pattern of violence” during her tenure as Davao City mayor. Reading from the affidavit, he quoted Lascañas as alleging Duterte had instructed subordinates to abduct suspected criminals “so they will just go missing, and the media won’t bother us.”

Before questioning began, Escudero reminded Matibag to avoid public statements that could be interpreted as targeting members of the impeachment court.

The admonition followed Matibag’s recent public exchanges with Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Pia Cayetano over the NBI’s decision to reopen its investigation into alleged irregularities in the country’s hosting of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

“I would like to remind and admonish you to avoid statements pertaining to individual members of the impeachment court,” Escudero said, adding that any dispute with the Cayetano siblings should be addressed by the Senate as a legislative body, not during the impeachment proceedings.

Neutrality challenged

Vinluan sought to undermine Matibag’s neutrality by presenting a Social Weather Stations survey showing Duterte with a 57-percent public trust rating and three opinion columns Matibag wrote for the Daily Tribune before joining the NBI: Inday Sara the Bratinella, The Bratinella is a Flat Spare Tire, and The Bratinella Sara, and Her Bad Habits.

Vinluan argued the columns reflected bias against Duterte and questioned whether they influenced the investigation.

Matibag acknowledged writing the articles but denied they affected his professional judgment, noting that the term “bratinella” originated from former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The NBI chief had served in the Duterte administration as acting Cabinet secretary, president of the National Transmission Corp. and secretary general of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Matibag stressed that public opinion surveys do not dictate law enforcement investigations and that the bureau acts solely on evidence, law and official procedure.

Vinluan also questioned Matibag about his wife, Laguna Rep. Ma. Rene Ann Lourdes Matibag, who was among the endorsers of the impeachment complaint against Duterte, suggesting that his family had aligned itself politically against the Vice President.

Matibag maintained that the NBI’s findings were based exclusively on evidence gathered during its investigation and not on his personal views or those of his wife.

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Matibag’s cross-examination will resume Wednesday. Once it concludes, House prosecutors are expected to formally rest their case on Article IV before proceeding to the second impeachment article involving the alleged misuse of confidential funds, where prosecutors are expected to present financial and audit evidence. /cb