The National Bureau of Investigation carries a standing duty to examine any statement that could constitute a threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. or any other person, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said, following remarks made by Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte at a political rally last weekend.
Castro’s statement came after Duterte, speaking before supporters at the April 12 launch of the Reform Alliance for Good Governance and Accountability Coalition in San Juan City, declared: “Isang ulo lang naman ang kailangan namin. Ang ulo ni Bongbong Marcos.”
The Davao mayor made the remark in the context of hitting Marcos over the flood control ghost projects controversy, saying he had stayed quiet and allowed the president to, in his words, self-destruct. “Siya ang nagbukas ng usapin ng flood control na may mga ghost project. Ako tumahimik talaga, kasi hinayaan kong mag-self destruct ‘yang gago na ‘yan,” Duterte said.
Castro, for her part, questioned whether the same self-destruction logic explained why the previous Duterte administration never pursued a deeper investigation into the flood control mess. “Kaya ba hindi nagpaimbestiga nang malaliman ang nakaraang administrasyon dahil magiging self-destruction sa dating Pangulong Duterte?” she said.
The NBI probe question arises as the bureau is already under scrutiny in a separate but related matter. NBI Director Melvin Matibag was ordered to appear before the House Committee on Justice on April 14 and to submit certified records from the agency’s investigation into Vice President Sara Duterte’s November 2024 threats against Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez — threats that have been cited in the impeachment complaints against the Vice President.
