DAY 4 WITNESS: Lawyer Jeremy Lotoc, the Bangsamoro regional director of the NBI, takes the witness stand on Day 4 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, July 13, 2026. Lotoc led the NBI team that probed the threats made by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2024. —Photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta | INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutors on Monday strengthened their impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, presenting a National Bureau of Investigation official who testified that her alleged threats against President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez were “serious, real and actual” and not merely political rhetoric or emotional outbursts.
Lawyer Jeremy Lotoc, now NBI regional director for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and formerly chief of the bureau’s cybercrime division, told the Senate impeachment court on its second week of trial that investigators concluded Duterte’s statements met the elements of criminal offenses after examining not only the words she uttered but also the context in which they were made.
Appearing as the prosecution’s second witness for Article IV of the impeachment complaint, Lotoc said the bureau analyzed Duterte’s Oct. 18 and Nov. 23, 2024, online press briefings to determine whether her remarks were simply made in anger or constituted genuine threats.
