DOJ: Subpoena to be issued vs Sara Duterte

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said a subpoena would be issued against Vice President Sara Duterte following her assassination remark against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Louise "Liza" Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

At a Palace press briefing, DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Andres said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has the power to do this.

"Ang imbestigasyon po na gagawin ng gobyerno ukol sa bagay na ito ay agad-agaran. Importante pong malaman kung ano ang mga naging hakbang para po kumuha ng serbisyo ng isang mamamatay tao na nagpaplano ng masamang balakin sa ating mahal na Pangulo," Andres said.

(The government's investigation on the matter will be undertaken right away. It's important to know right away the steps taken to secure the services of an assassin who is plotting to take the life of the President.)

"At gagawin po ng National Bureau of Investigation ang lahat ng mga hakbang para matunton ang identity nito kasama po ang pag-iisyu po ng subpoena kay Vice President Sara na humarap sa NBI para bigyan po ng kaliwanagan ang kaniyang mga pananalita dahil po diretsuhan niyang sinabi na siya po ay kumuha na ng tao na siya pong gagawa ng pagpatay hindi lang po sa Pangulo, kasama po ang ating First Lady at ang ating Speaker of the House ay hindi po tamang pananalita na nanggagaling po sa napakataas na opisyales ng ating bayan,'' he added.

(The National Bureau of Investigation will take all the necessary steps to ascertain the identity of the assassin, including the issuance of a subpoena for Vice President Sara to appear before the NBI so she may shed light on her statements because she directly stated that she secured the services of an assassin who will kill the President, the First Lady, and the Speaker of the House. These are improper statements from a very high official of our nation.)

This developed after the President vowed to block "criminal attempts" amid Duterte's statements that she already gave an order to have the First Couple and Romualdez killed should an attempt on her life succeed.

Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at the House of Representatives on Monday, November 25, 2024 to attend the continuing panel hearing on the budget use and confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her stint as secretary. Photo by Llanesca T. Panti/ GMA Integrated News

Andres said the NBI has already done an initial investigation on the pronouncements made by the vice president.

''Maybe we can report what we have validated with respect to the authenticity of the video which was aired in many platforms in social media to make sure that we are giving due process and we are ascertaining that the video is indeed genuine and the utterances of the Vice President,'' he said.

The DOJ official also said Duterte's remark should not be ignored as he recalled that Duterte also mentioned before that she supposedly wants to behead Marcos.

''Kaya kami po, we are not leaving any stone unturned (That's why we are not leaving any stone unturned). We will take every effort to protect the President and to investigate everyone that could possibly be involved in this assassination plot of the three high-ranking officials of government,'' Andres said.

Duterte to answer

In response, Duterte said that she will “gladly answer” all the questions that the NBI will ask her once she is summoned.

"Pero dapat sumagot din sila sa mga tanong ko sa kanila. Mag-uusap nalang kami doon kapag andyan na ‘yung subpoena,” Duterte said in an ambush interview at the House of Representatives on Monday.

(They should also answer my questions. We'll just talk when the subpoena has been issued.)

The NBI earlier on Monday said it has asked Facebook Meta to preserve the video of the late-night press conference of Duterte where she said she contracted someone to kill Marcos, his wife Liza, and his cousin Martin Romualdez if an alleged plot against her succeeds. —With a report from Giselle Ombay/VDV/RF, GMA Integrated News