What is 'Operation Romanov,' referred to by Sara Duterte's defense team?

Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyers defended her declaration that she made an arrangement for the assassination of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and then-Speaker Martin Romualdez by referring to "Operation Romanov," a supposed plot to kill the Vice President and her family.

"Romanov" is likely a reference to the mass murder of Russia's last ruling family—Tsar Nicholas II Romanov, his wife Alexandra, and their five children—in July 1918 by the Bolshevik revolutionaries.

At the impeachment trial against Duterte, defense lawyer Mark Vinluan insisted Operation Romanov is real, and that it justified the Vice President’s threats.

“The truth of the matter is this: She and her family were threatened and while her response was unconventional, it was justified. What triggered her response was a question about Operation Romanov, which is the plot to eliminate VP Sara and her entire family,” he told the Senate impeachment court.

Vinluan said Oplan Romanov was mentioned by a certain Princess Maui in the November 2024 press conference during which Duterte announced that she had spoken to someone about assassinating Marcos.

“Huwag kang mag-alala, Ma'am sa security ko, kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sabi ko sa kanya, kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez,” Duterte said at the time.

(Don't worry about my security because I have already spoken to someone. I told that person that if I am killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.)

"No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma'am. 'Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil ha, hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila. And then he said yes,” she added.

(No joke. I already gave instructions that if I die, don't stop until you have killed them.)

At the trial, Vinluan said that Duterte's words were a response to the threat.

“When VP Sara uttered those words, she was not responding as Sara Duterte the Vice President, but Sara Duterte the wife, mother, daughter, and sister who only sought to protect her own and her family members' lives. Operation Romanov is in place and the threat against their lives is real,” he said.

Vinluan also said that the Vice President also became a target of unauthorized intelligence and surveillance operations by government operatives “that expose her family to high-level risks and security threats, thereby causing intense trauma and uncontrollable fear.”

“Her homes in Davao and Manila were profiled and this is proven by classified casing reports. Her trusted security personnel were removed. Her schedule of official functions like the one in Naga was leaked by intelligence agents and her security was heavily compromised. In sum, the prosecution was right in using the term culmination,” Vinluan said.

“But the prosecution's interpretation is wrong. Rather, when VP Sara left the administration, she suffered various forms of threats and harassment for many months from the powers that be and the culmination was her statement on that fateful early morning in November 2024. She didn't commit an impeachable offense. She drew the line in the sand and said, enough is enough,” Vinluan added.

When Senator-judge Alan Cayetano asked prosecution witness NBI Senior Agent Mark Calilung if the NBI investigated Oplan Romanov. Calilung replied that the NBI tried but that the Vice President and Princess Maui did not show up when NBI asked them to come to the agency to discuss the details of the supposed plot.

"We tried to investigate the supposed threats against them, Your Honor. It was included in our letter to the Vice President. That is why we invited her to our office so we could investigate the alleged threats to her life," Calilung said.

"Yes, we invited the Vice President and Princess Maui to come to the NBI. They did not appear, Your Honor," he added. — BM, GMA News