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 Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 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 | INQUIRER
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 Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 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.”
