Typo errors in subpoena, affidavit in Sara Duterte threat probe, NBI admits

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Monday acknowledged that typographical errors appeared in the subpoena and affidavit of investigation issued in connection with its probe into Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged threats against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

Atty. Jeremy Lotoc, NBI regional director for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), admitted that both documents were mistakenly dated November 6, 2024.

Lotoc, the House prosecution panel's second witness, was presented to testify on Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment, which concerns the alleged grave threats and assassination plot against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Lotoc previously served as chief of the NBI Cybercrime Division, which investigated Duterte's late-night online press conference in November 2024, during which she allegedly said she had contracted an assassin to kill the President, the First Lady, and Romualdez if she herself were assassinated.

He clarified that the affidavit of investigation should have been dated December 11, 2024.

"I believe so, Your Honor. Ang intention namin is 11 December 2024," Lotoc told the Senate impeachment court on the fourth day of Duterte's impeachment trial.

Senator-judge Imee Marcos questioned the timeline of the NBI's investigation, asking why the bureau supposedly issued a subpoena to ABS-CBN on November 6, 2024, seeking a copy of Duterte's late-night online press conference when the NBI was directed to investigate the incident only on November 23, 2024.

"I believe that's a typo, 'yung date. Kasi makikita doon 'yung date ng appearance ng taga-ABS-CBN, which is consistent sa ibang taga-media," Lotoc said.

(I believe the date was a typo. You can see the date when the ABS-CBN representative appeared before us, and it is consistent with the appearance of representatives from other media organizations.)

The senator-judge also pointed out that the same date appeared in the affidavit of investigation signed by Lotoc.

"Dalawang typo, carried over? ... Ikaw ang pumirma eh. 'Yung affidavit of investigation mo na binigay pati amended, carried over din. 'Yung first draft na ni-reject ng DOJ, 'yung ikalawa, parehong November 6," Marcos said.

(Two typos, both carried over? You signed them. Both your affidavit of investigation and the amended version carried the same date. Even the first draft, rejected by the Department of Justice, and the second one were both dated November 6.)

For his part, Duterte's defense counsel, Atty. Mark Vinluan argued that the discrepancy was not merely a typographical error but a substantive issue, pointing out that the same incorrect date also appeared in the footnotes of the affidavit of investigation. — MCG, GMA News