By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) did not act on its own when it investigated Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other top government officials, as the inquiry was mandated by law, an NBI official told the Senate impeachment court on Monday.
Jeremy Lotoc, now the NBI regional director for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), testified during the fourth day of Duterte’s impeachment trial that Republic Act No. 10867 gives the bureau primary jurisdiction over investigations involving threats against the country’s highest-ranking officials.
Serving as the House prosecution panel’s second witness, Lotoc explained that he headed the NBI Cybercrime Division when the bureau launched its investigation into Duterte’s statements made during a livestreamed press conference on Nov. 23, 2024.
The remarks allegedly referred to President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Lotoc said the case fell squarely within the NBI’s legal mandate.
“Under Republic Act No. 10867, the NBI has primary jurisdiction to investigate cases involving threats to the security and safety of the country’s highest officials,” he testified before the impeachment court.
He identified those protected under the law as the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Lotoc told senator-judges that he had served as chief of the NBI Cybercrime Division beginning in February 2023 before being appointed regional director.
He said his office was responsible for investigating cybercrime offenses under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175), as well as other high-profile cases assigned under the NBI Reorganization and Modernization Act.
According to Lotoc, one of the division’s responsibilities is to investigate crimes committed through information and communication technology, including incidents involving online threats against government officials.
He also outlined his credentials, saying he became a member of the Philippine Bar in 2013 and has served with the NBI for the past 12 years.
The House prosecution presented Lotoc to establish the legal basis for the NBI investigation into Duterte’s alleged statements, which form part of the Articles of Impeachment being heard by the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.
The alleged threats, delivered during an online press briefing in November 2024, became one of the grounds cited by the House of Representatives in transmitting the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
The Senate impeachment court is expected to determine the credibility and weight of the testimony, along with the documentary and digital evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defense as the trial proceeds.
ia/xf
