Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte attends the HOR Committee hearing on Good Governance and Public Accountability at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City on November 25, 2024, tackling the Php 612.5 million confidential fund expenses of the OVP and the DepEd under the helm of VP Duterte.

MANILA — The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said it will issue a subpoena against Vice President Sara Duterte over her kill plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., describing the second in command as a “self-confessed mastermind” in an assassination plan against the highest-elected official in the country.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has started tracking assassins who Duterte claimed to have contracted to kill Marcos Jr., DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Andres said, noting that the vice president will be given 5 days to explain herself before investigators.

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“The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind will now face legal consequences,” Andres said in a press conference in Malacañang.

“We are now tapping our law enforcement agents to investigate the whereabouts of these persons plotting against the President,” he said.

“We will use all resources of government, all government agents to find out the identity of this assassin, and they will be dealt with the full force of the law,” he said.

While Duterte claimed that her kill plot — mentioned in a live online press conference over the weekend — was “maliciously taken out of logical context,” the vice president’s claim remains to be a “serious threat” as this is not the first time that she expressed her desire to harm the chief executive, Andres said.

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In October, Duterte said she wanted to cut off Marcos Jr.’s head when he refused to give his watch to a student during a graduation ceremony they attended.

“She is the ultimate beneficiary… She is the beneficiary of the death of the president so her words should be taken seriously,” the  Justice Undersecretary said.

“Tinanggap namin 'yun in a metaphorical way… Pero sa kaniyang bagong pananalita, hindi na maaaring isantabi lang yan,” he said.

“Ang ating Pangulo ay binigyang banta ng isa ring mataas na opisyal ng gobyerno… She even immediately added that this is no joke,” he said.

The NBI is expected to serve Duterte’s subpoena on November 26, NBI Director Jaime Santiago said.

“Out of courtesy, due process, hindi po namin agad inaresto si VP  dahil siya ay vice president,” the NBI chief.

“We are giving her a chance, due process to answer yung mga binibintang sa kaniya,” he said.

The NBI has also asked social media platform Facebook to “preserve” the video where Duterte mentioned her assassination plan against Marcos Jr., Santiago said.

“Kung hindi siya tumugon sa aming subpoena na ipapadala, kung ano yung ebidensya na nasa kamay namin, ifafile namin yun,” he said.

The DOJ said they have yet to determine what charges may be filed against the vice president, saying that they are open to all possibilities including cases of grave threat and sedition.

“We are looking at all angles, all possible cases… even violations of CPRA (Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability), disbarment case if there are grounds,” said DOJ Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Padullon.

“She will be given an opportunity to present her side. Kung hindi siya tumugon, hindi naman tayo puwede maghintay until she is good and ready,” the prosecutor general said.

“Kung hindi sila tumugon, wala tayong magagawa kung hindi sundin ang batas,” he said.

The government’s handling of Duterte’s threat against the President will test the fairness of the Philippine institutions, Andres said.

“What is on trial here is also our justice system… now we will have the opportunity to show that no one is above the law and accountability can be exacted,” the Justice Undersecretary said.

“If we are not able to apply the law to people who have influence and power, what kind of government can we provide?” he said.