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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider NBI"s Lotoc: Ex-President Duterte's link to extrajudicial killings bolsters belief Sara capable of contracting hitman

NBI"s Lotoc: Ex-President Duterte's link to extrajudicial killings bolsters belief Sara capable of contracting hitman

Published Jul 14, 2026 07:32 pm

At A Glance

  • Vice President Sara Duterte has the capability to carry out an assassination threat because she is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte who is now facing a criminal case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings during his administration's brutal campaign against illegal drugs, a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official said.
Vice President Sara Duterte says former President Rodrigo Duterte remains in “good spirits” as he undergoes legal proceedings before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (Screengrab: OVP video)
Vice President Sara Duterte says former President Rodrigo Duterte remains in “good spirits” as he undergoes legal proceedings before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (Screengrab: OVP video)
Vice President Sara Duterte has the capability to carry out an assassination threat because she is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte who is now facing a criminal case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings during his administration's brutal campaign against illegal drugs. 
This, according to National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc is the reason why the agency could not easily dismiss the threats the Vice President uttered in the November 2024 online press conference.
Lotoc pointed this out when Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian pressed the NBI official what evidence did the NBI Cybercrime Division had that led them to believe that Duterte had contracted a hitman to kill President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., his wife First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, should something happen to her.
The NBI official said that even though the Vice President later on denied she issued any grave threats against the First Family, they were able to “establish the elements of the crime of grave threat.”
“Mere denial would not discount the fact that she uttered that statement and that she had already spoken to some people. That’s exactly the problem, that’s why we wanted to speak to her personally so we can ask her further questions if the alleged hitman the Vice President contracted was true or not,” Lotoc said in his response to Gatchalian during Day 5 of the impeachment trial.
However, the vice president did not cooperate with the NBI’s investigation back then, according to Lotoc.
When Gatchalian asked again if they were able to prove that the Vice President is indeed capable  to contract a hitman to do the job, Lotoc replied: “Definitely. Definitely yes.”
“For one, she is the vice president of the Republic of the Philippines,” Lotoc said.
To which Gatchalian argued: “But just because you are the Vice President, you already automatically have that capability?"
Lotoc then said: “We all know the background of her father, the former president, who is now facing a case before the ICC because of the extrajudicial killings..."
“So we looked into that, and seeing that, indeed being in that situation, she has the capability, aside from the fact that she is the Vice President,” Lotoc further said.
Currently, the former president is facing trial before the ICC for crimes against humanity which stemmed from his administration’s “war on drugs” campaign during his term. 

Related Tags

Sara Duterte ICC extrajudicial killings Duterte Senate Impeachment Court Duterte impeachment case 2026
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