National Security Council ‘closely coordinating’ with agencies on threat vs Marcos Jr.

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1732421194880467116801_991616216343810_2737321393022836428_n.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">In this handout photo, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año attends a budget hearing at the Senate on Nov. 11, 2024. National Security Council Facebook page</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATED) </strong>— The National Security Council said on Sunday it will work with law enforcement agencies in looking into the threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte have played down as &quot;hyperbolic&quot; and a &quot;conditional&quot; threat.</p><p>The statement comes a day after Vice President Sara Duterte claimed that she hired an assassin to kill the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez should a plot against her succeed. The NSC did not name Duterte in its statement.</p><p>The Vice President also alleged in an online press briefing on Saturday that Romualdez wants her dead, claiming she is a threat to his political ambitions in the 2028 elections.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/24/supposed-vp-duterte-threat-just-hyperbolic-statement-former-marcos-jr-official-1024">RELATED: Supposed VP Duterte threat just ‘hyperbolic’ statement — former Marcos Jr. official</a></div><p>&quot;The National Security Council considers all threats to the President of the Philippines as serious. Any and all threats against the life of the President shall be validated and considered a matter of national security,&quot; National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement.</p><p>&quot;We shall be closely coordinating with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to investigate the nature of the threat, the possible perpetrators, and their motives. We shall do our utmost in defense of our democratic institutions and processes which the President represents,&quot; he added.</p><p>Duterte made the remarks after a House panel ordered to move Office of the Vice President chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to the Mandaluyong Correctional Facility.</p><p>The Dutertes have a reputation of making shocking statements that are later walked back or are explained as &quot;hyperbole&quot; or made out of frustration.</p><p>Lopez was originally detained at the House of Representatives detention facility after she was cited in contempt by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability last Thursday.</p><p>The House panel decided to transfer Lopez after Duterte insisted on staying at the House of Representatives until her chief of staff&#x27;s release from detention. They said the transfer was for the security of the House as well as of Duterte and Lopez.</p><div><strong>DELA ROSA: LET&#x27;S JUST UNDERSTAND HER SITUATION</strong></div><p>In a chance interview at Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; Dela Rosa characterized Duterte&#x27;s statement as a “conditional threat.”  </p><p>“Maybe [it is a] conditional threat. You hurt me, I’ll hurt you. You shoot me, I’ll shoot you. Parang gano’n,” Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police chief, said.</p><p>Dela Rosa further noted that Duterte’s remarks reflect a natural reaction given her situation.  </p><p>“Lahat naman tayo ayaw natin ng harm to every one of us, pero considering the situation, masyado na siyang [VP Sara Duterte] naggigipit. Feeling na parang pinagkaisahan. So, normal reaction ng tao ‘yan,” he added. </p><p>(All of us do not want to wish harm on anyone, but considering the situation and she is in desperate straits. She feels ganged up on. So, that is a normal reaction)</p><p>Dela Rosa and Sen. Christopher &quot;Bong&quot; Go are at VMMC to help keep watch over Lopez as substitutes for Duterte, who said she wants to go and visit her children.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/24/duterte-supporters-hold-vigil-at-veterans-roque-joins-online-protest-0940">READ: Duterte supporters hold vigil at Veterans; Roque joins online protest</a></div><p>The Vice President has remained by the side of Lopez while she is at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.</p><p>&quot;We enjoin the Filipino people to remain calm and confident in the knowledge that the security sector will ensure the President’s safety and will always uphold at all times the constitution, our democratic institutions, and the chain of command,&quot; Año said.</p><p>&quot;We underscore that the safety of the President is a non-partisan issue, and we stand united in our commitment to upholding the integrity of the office and the democratic institutions that govern our great nation,&quot; he reiterated.</p><p>The Presidential Security Command on Saturday said it has &quot;heightened and strengthened&quot; security of President Marcos Jr. and his family following the threat.</p><p>Malacañang earlier referred Duterte&#x27;s claim to the PSC for proper and immediate action.</p><p>In a separate statement, Police Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, PNP chief, ordered the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) to investigate Duterte&#x27;s threat. <strong>— with a report from Jessie Cruzat, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oWnl7zOWE_w?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>"The National Security Council considers all threats to the President of the Philippines as serious," National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement.</p>

"The National Security Council considers all threats to the President of the Philippines as serious," National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said in a statement.

National Security Council ‘closely coordinating’ with agencies on threat vs Marcos Jr. | ABS-CBN

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National Security Council ‘closely coordinating’ with agencies on threat vs Marcos Jr.

National Security Council ‘closely coordinating’ with agencies on threat vs Marcos Jr.

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 24, 2024 12:30 PM PHT

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Updated Nov 24, 2024 01:19 PM PHT

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National Security Council

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Sara Duterte

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