The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has stated that the remarks made by Vice President Sara Duterte regarding President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez can be considered a grave threat and inciting to sedition.
During the resumption of the impeachment hearings against Duterte by the House Committee on Justice on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, Attorney Yentl Malicad answered affirmatively when asked if Duterte's statements against the first couple constituted grave threats and incitement to sedition.
"The complaint referred by the NBI, which includes inciting to sedition, contains all the necessary evidence to prove the essential elements of the crime and should be docketed for preliminary investigation," Malicad said.
"Based on the evidence gathered by the NBI and submitted to the Department of Justice for the purpose of preliminary investigation, the findings of the NBI show that the acts of the Vice President constitute grave threats," she added.
The NBI has submitted its affidavit of investigation on Duterte's remarks against Marcos to the panel as part of its proceedings to find probable cause for the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
In an online press conference in the early morning of November 23, 2025, Duterte said she had contracted someone to assassinate the first couple and Romualdez if she herself is killed. This remark was part of Duterte's outburst after the House committee on good government and public accountability, then investigating alleged irregularities in the use of funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), ordered the transfer of detention of her chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City. Duterte then hurled expletives against the Marcos couple and Romualdez for putting her staff in hot water amid the political demolition against her.
During the hearing, NBI Director Malvin Matibag said they have already obtained leads about the people allegedly contracted by Duterte to execute the Marcoses and Romualdez. "We have leads already. We have some personalities that we have under surveillance and are being followed. We are zeroing in on several individuals who may have been the ones she spoke to regarding the threat she made," said Matibag.
He said they are also looking into a "Vice President Security Group" allegedly created by Duterte, composed of about 500 individuals, including active and inactive members of the military. "If you recall, there was a mention, and it has not been denied, that there is a so-called vice presidential security group, her own security group. In general, we are looking into those individuals in the close associations of the Vice President," the NBI director added.
