Impeachment prosecution team spokesman Benjamin Tolosa Jr. answers questions during a press briefing on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. — Screengrab from House of Representatives’ Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — No more doubts remain about the gravity of Vice President Sara Duterte’s threats to have someone kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, House private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said in a media conference on Wednesday.
According to Tolosa, the House prosecution panel has a “very high” level of confidence in the strength of the evidence it presented for the fourth impeachment article, which deals with the accusation of grave threats and inciting to sedition against the vice president.
“At this point, there are no more questions, maybe from all of the people here, about whether the part in the video where the vice president admitted that there was already an agreement [with someone] to kill the president is true,” Tolosa said in a mix of English and Filipino.
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READ: NBI chief: Sara Duterte influenced individuals to threaten Marcos
The prosecution is about to rest its case on the fourth impeachment article, having already presented three witnesses, ending with the testimony of Director Melvin Matibag of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Not an isolated event
“The reason is also very clear why the NBI took this seriously. It’s really because this is not an isolated event. This is not just one sentence lamang or one viral video. A pattern of violence was seen, both in actions and in words,” Tolosa said.
Tolosa noted that Duterte had been consistent in her threats, as seen in the three separate instances where she made statements and confirmations about her intentions against the president.
“It was also determined through her words that she was consistent even before that [Nov. 23, 2024, online media conference] video,” Tolosa said.
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“Once before, she also said that she cut off the head of the president. She followed this up with an admission that she actually already had an agreement [with someone] to kill the president. Then, after three days, she did not withdraw but instead stood by her statements. So, for us, the evidence we have laid down for this case is very clear,” he added.
READ: NBI chief: VP’s kill threat a nat’l security concern
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It would still be up to the senator-judges to appreciate the evidence presented by the prosecution, he pointed out. But for him, the evidence was enough to answer the critical question of whether or not the vice president should remain in office.
“With these words and actions [of the vice president], is she showing that she had betrayed the trust of the people who put her in office? Do they show a clear and serious violation of the Constitution? For us, the answer to this is clear,” Tolosa said.
For his part, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V said the defense failed to discredit the witnesses and evidence presented by the prosecution.
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“The picture is now clearer, and it was affirmed that there’s an existing threat. It was just made stronger,” Ortega said. /atm