Former National Bureau of Investigation director Jaime Santiago, who oversaw Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged threats against President Marcos, the First Lady, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, has expressed his willingness to testify before the Senate impeachment court.
Santiago led a six-member investigative panel in 2024 and 2025 to determine whether Duterte should face criminal charges for stating on Nov. 23, 2024, that she hired an assassin to kill the three if she herself was killed.
This threat became the subject of Article IV in the Senate’s impeachment proceedings. In February 2025, the NBI received complaints against Duterte for making grave threats and inciting sedition after the panel unanimously found her liable for her actions.
The bureau’s complaint is still pending before the Department of Justice.
On Wednesday, during the cross-examination of senior NBI agent John Mark Calilung, who handled the case, Duterte’s defense lawyers were questioned about the gaps in the NBI’s investigation.
When asked about such gaps, Santiago declined, stating, “I am listed as one of the witnesses at the impeachment. I will not speak for now about the investigation we made. “
The panel noted that no affidavits from any of Duterte’s alleged targets were attached to the complaint. However, at a press conference in February 2025, the former NBI chief stated that the Vice President’s remarks were seditious because they “incited her followers to rise against the President.”
According to lawyer Domingo Cayosa, a constitutional law expert, the impeachment trial should not be about grandstanding by the prosecution and defense lawyers, or senators-judges. He stated that the impeachment trial should prioritize and reveal the truth, rather than preventing or delaying technicalities /Phoemella Contreras
