Threats vs president also threaten national security – NBI chief

NBI Director Melvin Matibag testifies before the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. — Photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta | INQUIRER MANILA, Philippines — Threats against the president of the Philippines also threaten national security, Director Melvin Matibag of the National Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday as he testified at the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. According to Matibag, the vice president remains the subject of a continuing investigation because of her videotaped Nov. 23, 2024, media conference in which she said she had hired someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez — if she were killed. “From our law enforcement perspective, we’re treating the threat made by the vice president not as a threat but as a plan for killing our president, and that is a threat to the president which we also consider a threat to our national security,” Matibag said in a mix of English and Filipino as the prosecution’s final witness for the fourth article of impeachment. Article continues after this advertisement READ: NBI tags persons of interest in Duterte’s alleged kill plot vs Marcos “Our vice president is currently the subject of a continuing investigation for the threat and plant to kill our president, the first lady, and the former speaker of the House,” he added. NBI special task force to continue probe According to Matibag, the NBI did not stop at just its probe into the criminal complaints for grave threats and inciting to sedition, which are now pending before the Department of Justice. It also formed a special task force to continue the investigation, monitor threats, and report developments requiring immediate action. “We established what’s called a special task force through an administrative order, under which we’re assigning members of our office so that they can continue this investigation and monitor what needs to be done,” Matibag said. He identified the directive as Administrative Order No. 11, issued on April 16, 2026. The prosecution presented the order as Exhibit P-429 and said it would later submit a certified true copy. Article continues after this advertisement Matibag said the task force was required to coordinate regularly with the Office of the NBI Director and immediately report information requiring action. Explaining what prompted the move, Matibag cited the vice president’s public statements and an April 12 broadcast of a RAGE Coalition rally. Article continues after this advertisement “There’s a broadcast of a rally of what’s known as RAGE Coalition. If I remember it correctly, it’s April 12 when the Davao City mayor, Mr. Sebastian Duterte, said, ‘When we only need one head, and that’s the head of Bongbong Marcos.’ That’s one factor we included in putting together Administrative Order No. 11,” Matibag said. READ: NBI chief: Sara Duterte influenced individuals to threaten Marcos Irrelevant The defense objected to the discussion of the rally as irrelevant. The presiding officer, Sen. Francis Escudero, allowed it but directed the prosecution to connect the video to the matter before the court. The hearing paused as Matibag consulted his investigation notes for the relevant timestamp. Earlier, the defense had objected to the task force testimony, arguing that its creation was not stated in the articles of impeachment. The presiding officer allowed Matibag to testify, saying the task force’s formation could bear on the persistence the prosecution sought to establish. The defense registered a continuing objection. According to Matibag, the task force consists of NBI’s National Capital Region office and several divisions — Cybercrime, Organized and Transnational Crime, Technical Intelligence, and Digital Forensic Laboratory. Their work, he explained, included continuing surveillance, monitoring threats transmitted through social media, coordinating with foreign counterparts, and conducting technical examinations of evidence. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. “Any threat to our president is a threat to the security of our country because this will bring disorder, restlessness, and destabilization to our government and to our country,” Matibag said. /atm