THE Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) will focus its investigation on identifying the assassin allegedly contracted by Vice President Sara Duterte to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, in the event that she herself is killed.
“Yan ang talagang tutok ng PNP kasi specifics na yun, e. So nandun tayo sa level na yun. Yun talaga ang abot namin kung totoo nga bang may hitman, kung totoong baka naman walang hitman or baka naman yan ay figure of speech na naman. So 'yun ang ating mga titingnan diyan and we will be including all of those in our investigation,” CIDG Director Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III said in a press conference on Monday, November 25, 2024.
(That’s really the focus of the PNP because that’s already specific. So we’re at that level now. That’s really what we can investigate -- whether there is indeed a hitman, or maybe there isn’t, or maybe it’s just another figure of speech. So those are the things we will be looking into, and we will be including all of that in our investigation.)
Torre said that, as ordered by PNP Chief General Rommel Marbil, they are investigating the incident in which Duterte admitted to instructing someone to kill the First Couple and Romualdez if she is killed.
He said they will identify the facts of the case, create a chronology of events, and analyze and discuss the possible laws violated during the incident.
Torre said the results of the investigation will be forwarded to the proper authorities or agencies of the government for the possible filing of charges in relation to the incident.
“Kami, we will just be limited to the investigation. So kapag investigation, ang gagawin lang namin we will just establish the facts of the case, we will examine this and discuss this vis a vis the relevant laws and then we will make a conclusions and we will make our recommendations and that’s it, tapos kami doon,” Torre said.
(We will be limited to the investigation. So, in the investigation, what we will do is establish the facts of the case, examine this, and discuss it in relation to the relevant laws. Then, we will make our conclusions and provide our recommendations, and that's it, we’re done with it.)
“Then the investigation report will be forwarded to the proper authorities kung sino ang magfa-file ng case because this could be something that we need a private complainant. This can be something that can be taken up by other branches of the government. This could be taken up by the SolGen (solicitor general) and the other instrumentalities kung saan direction nila ipupunta or dadalhin ang imbestigasyon na ito,” he added.
(Then the investigation report will be forwarded to the proper authorities who will file the case, because this could require a private complainant. This could be something that can be taken up by other branches of the government, such as the solicitor general, or other agencies, depending on the direction they choose to take with the investigation.)
Meanwhile, PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said the PNP will also look into the lapses and negligence of the police in handling the tension during the transfer of Duterte’s chief of staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) from St. Luke’s Medical Center on Saturday, November 23.
In a viral video, Duterte confronted a police officer who tried to close an ambulance door while the VP was still standing behind it.
Lopez was detained at the House of Representatives facility after being cited in contempt by the House committee on good government and public accountability over alleged “undue interference” on November 20, amid its ongoing investigation on the alleged irregularities in the use of funds of the Office of the Vice President.
Citing security concerns, the panel has ordered her transfer to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.
Lopez, who was then accompanied by Duterte in the facility, went hysterical and later felt ill, which prompted authorities to bring her to a hospital.
Duterte contested the transfer of Lopez to Mandaluyong. (TPM/VoxPop Philippines)