Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said it has yet to find any concrete lead that could identify the person Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly instructed to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the event of her demise.
PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Police Brig. Gen Nicolas Torre made the pronouncement after telling reporters they had already begun assisting the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in probing the individual’s identity.
“We are looking at things, but nothing concrete so far,” Torre told reporters in Filipino during a chance interview.
He then refused to disclose any further information regarding the investigation as it is still ongoing.
However, Torre assured the public that the NBI and PNP-CIDG had already taken “concrete steps” in the investigation.
“We are conducting a joint investigation, but as of yesterday, concrete steps have already been taken by the NBI under DOJ (Department of Justice),” said Torre in a mix of Filipino and English.
“So I believe we will submit to the auspices of NBI. We’ll just give them additional inputs if they need them,” he added in a mix of Filipino and English.
According to Torre, the PNP-CIDG’s role in the investigation is to provide assistance and other information to the NBI that may help in the case.
It was on Saturday when Duterte claimed that she hired someone to kill Marcos, his wife Liza, and cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself is killed.
Malacañang in a previous statement tagged this as an “active threat.”
The NBI then issued a subpoena against the Vice President to have her explain her side as the agency investigates the supposed murder plot.
READ: NBI to issue subpoena to VP Duterte over threats vs President Marcos
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice pointed out that Duterte’s threat against the life of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. showed her “lack of recourse to legal and judicial remedies,” which “exposes” her to criminal liabilities.