The National Bureau of Investigation(NBI) said it was looking into the possibility that the alleged assassin cited by Vice President Sara Duterte could be linked to her own security detail.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag told a House justice panel hearing on Wednesday, April 29, that investigators were examining members of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG), which includes active military personnel.
He said it remained possible that the supposed hitman was from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), noting that some members of the security unit were still in active service.
Matibag said others assigned to the vice presidential security detail were no longer in the military, but the bureau was still tracing several individuals connected to the case.
He added that investigators had yet to identify the specific person Duterte allegedly referred to when she claimed to have spoken with an assassin.
The NBI said it was focusing on close associates of the Vice President while continuing background checks on “several personalities” under review.
Officials also confirmed that the video showing Duterte’s remarks had been validated and was not altered or generated, citing verification that it was not edited or AI-manipulated.
The case stems from Duterte’s November 2024 online briefing, where she allegedly said she had contacted someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez if anything happened to her, an episode that later became part of impeachment proceedings now advancing in the House.