Witness claims Sara Duterte hired hitman before kill remark vs Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — A witness, who would supposedly prove that Vice President Sara Duterte had already contracted someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was presented by the House of Representative’s prosecution team in her impeachment trial on Monday, July 13. Atty. Jeremy Lotoc headed the Cybercrime Division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which investigated Duterte’s assassination threats against Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta- Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez during an online media briefing on November 23, 2024. According to private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan, the NBI concluded that the vice president’s threats were real and serious after considering the manner in which she delivered her statements, which showed that “she intended her remarks to be real and serious threats.” “She (Duterte) was not merely joking when she made those statements,” Ligutan said. “Pangalawa, mga kababayan even before that fateful press conference on November 23, 2024 bago yung press conference na iyan, may nakontrata nang mamatay tao yung bise presidente, bago pa man ang press conference na yan,” the lawyer stressed. (Second, my fellow Filipinos, even before that fateful press conference on November 23, 2024, the vice president had already hired someone to carry out a killing. That arrangement had been made even before the press conference took place) Last week, the House prosecution’s team also presented another NBI agent, John Mark Calilung, who testified about the authenticity of the video taken during the presscon . Duterte’s assassination threats were contained in the fourth article of impeachment lodged against her. /edv