Vice President Sara Duterte attends a hearing for the Office of the Vice President's 2025 budget at the House of Representatives on August 27, 2024.  Photo courtesy of the House of Representatives 

MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday stood firm that she would not present herself before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), saying that its inquiry on her alleged death threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was “unfair.”

“The NBI has decided to file cases against me even before they started their investigations,” Duterte told reporters hours after she skipped the agency’s hearing for a second time. 

“I don’t think na patas ang imbestigasyong ito… We believe that cases will be filed,” the Vice President claimed.

“Kahit pa sabihin nila na may imbestigasyon, sa umpisa pa lang ay may desisyon na sila na mag-file ng cases,” she said.

In November, Marcos Jr. hit back against Duterte’s kill threat, saying that he would not condone such “a criminal attempt.”

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Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said they would use the “full force of law” to track down those possibly contracted by the Vice President to kill the commander in chief.

While her lawyers assert that the Vice President is not required to present herself before the NBI despite a subpoena, Duterte said that she was prepared for a possible arrest and underscored that she had no plans to flee from the Philippines.

“When I read the subpoena, I read there na it was for grave threats. Hindi naman grave threats ang ginawa ko,” she said.

“I do not plan to leave the country, I do not plan to hide if a warrant of arrest will be released,” she said.

“My children are here so if I will be detained, I want to see them,” she said.

Duterte said the worst possible case in her camp’s opinion is if her political foes would succeed in removing her from office.

“I am staying, finishing my term because that is my contract with the Filipino people,” the Vice President said. “I’m at peace with whatever happens to me… I have already accepted that whatever happens to me, that is God’s purpose for my life.”

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Meanwhile, 1-RIDER party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said Duterte’s non-appearance at the NBI was “unfortunate”.

“We’re of the position that the Vice President should take every avenue to clear their name, to clear the office’s name, to clear her name,” he said.

“We suspended one of our Good Government [committee] hearings, so that she could attend [the NBI hearing]. We want to afford her the opportunity to answer the allegations even from other government bodies, but given that she’s not doing it, it’s unfortunate,” Gutierrez added.

“We hope that she participates, not only with the NBI… I hope she participates with all the agencies as long as the rule of law is concerned,” the lawmaker said.

The NBI initially told Duterte to appear before investigators on November 29, but she asked the meeting to be rescheduled as she wanted to attend a House Committee hearing that was eventually canceled.

The NBI moved the hearing to December 11, but Duterte’s camp submitted a letter to the panel instead as the Vice President chose to attend a thanksgiving lunch for reporters covering the OVP, and another meeting in her headquarters in Mandaluyong City.

The Department of Justice earlier said that it would use the full force of law to probe the statements of the Vice President, which the administration described as a “national security issue.”

Duterte said her statement was taken out of context. She said the "revenge" plot had a specific condition before it could be put into motion: that she had to die first.

She added that her remark "does not constitute to an active threat."

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— With a report from Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News