NBI Chief To Testify On VP’s Alleged Hired Killer

National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag is expected to provide the Senate impeachment court tomorrow, July 21, with more details into Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim that she already hired an assassin to kill President Marcos in case she herself were taken down.

Benjamin Tolosa Jr., legal spokesperson and member of the prosecution team of the House of Representatives, disclosed that the NBI chief’s testimony will be veering away from those of NBI agent John Mark Calilung and regional director Jeremy Lotoc.

In an interview over dzBB on Sunday, July 19, Tolosa said during Lotoc’s testimony, the defense repeatedly asked what other steps the NBI had taken to identify the alleged assassin Duterte referred to during her November 2024 livestream.

He said Lotoc consistently explained that such questions fell outside the scope of the Cybercrime Division’s investigation, and would be better addressed to their director, or the bureau’s intelligence units.

“So, this is where the testimony of NBI Director Matibag comes in. He is expected to give us clarity with regard to the investigation that they conducted, and what the NBI did to this specific gunman killer who was tasked by the VP to do the assassination,” Tolosa said.

The private prosecutor, on the other hand, stressed that the prosecution’s Article IV case on alleged grave threats does not hinge on proving that an assassin actually existed or that a murder plot had been carried out.

Instead, Tolosa explained that the impeachment charge centers on Duterte’s alleged public threats, which the prosecution argues already constitute impeachable conduct.

“It is very important for us to prove that she violated the law when she threatened to have the President killed. It will also be our task to show to the general public that this online press conference produced a chilling effect, specifically to the President,” he said.

The House prosecution panel is set to resume presenting its evidence tomorrow, with Matibag expected to be among the next witnesses in support of Article IV of the articles of impeachment, which accuses Duterte of committing impeachable offenses through her alleged grave threats against the President, First Lady Liza Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez.

NBI shrugs off ‘minion’ jab

Meanwhile, the NBI brushed aside Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s remark calling Matibag a “minion,” saying the bureau’s investigation into the 2019 Southeast Asian Games would proceed based on evidence and the law.

The NBI issued the statement hours after Cayetano, in a Facebook livestream, mocked Matibag while pointing to a T-shirt featuring characters from the animated film “Despicable Me.”

“There are masterminds and there are minions. The T-shirt I’m wearing today is dedicated to the minions... This minion’s name is Melvin,” Cayetano said.

The exchange stemmed from Cayetano’s criticism of the NBI’s investigation into alleged irregularities in the country’s hosting of the 2019 SEA Games, which was held while he chaired the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.

In a statement, the NBI said neither Matibag nor the bureau would be distracted by personal attacks.

“No one in the Bureau will take offense at the label, nor will it be answered in kind. The Bureau’s work rests on evidence, on documents, and on the law – and none of these is moved by name-calling,” it said.

The NBI said the probe was initiated as “billions in public funds appear to have been disbursed outside the ordinary safeguards of competitive bidding and government audit.” — With Mark Ernest Villeza