NBI: Duterte’s threat video authenticated, unedited

MANILA, Philippines — The video showing Vice President Sara Duterte’s November 2024 remarks about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez was authentic and showed no signs of editing, alteration, or artificial intelligence (AI) manipulation, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday told lawmakers on Wednesday.

The disclosure was made during the House Committee on Justice’s third clarificatory hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte, where the video was submitted as evidence.

The hearing revisited Duterte’s controversial remarks during an online press conference on Nov. 23, 2024, after tensions escalated following the detention of her chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, at the House of Representatives.

Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro earlier said discussions surrounding Duterte’s statements would help lawmakers assess whether the vice president was still fit for office.

READ: Sara Duterte impeachment: April 29 hearing about her character — Luistro

NBI explains authentication process

At Wednesday’s hearing, San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora asked the NBI to explain how investigators verified the authenticity of the November 2024 video.

NBI Cybercrime Division Investigation Agent John Mark Calilung confirmed that the bureau authenticated the full recording of Duterte’s press conference.

“There is a whole video that I have authenticated,” he said in Filipino.

He said authentication meant determining whether the footage reflected what actually transpired and whether it had been digitally manipulated.

“Authentication means ensuring that the video is the same as and accurately reflects what actually transpired. We ensure that it is not edited, spliced, or AI-generated,” Calilung said.

The process began with preserving the original online source of the recording. Calilung said investigators coordinated with Meta to preserve the URL containing the livestreamed press conference from Nov. 23, 2024.

The bureau then created a screen recording of the livestream to document the video, together with identifying details linked to its source.

“Next, we conducted a screen recording of the video to ensure that what transpired is also being recorded […] including the URL [and who streamed the video],” Calilung said.

He later confirmed that the authenticated recording came from an account associated with former presidential spokesman Harry Roque.

Investigators also used hash-value analysis, a digital verification method that determines whether a file has been altered.

“Hash value calculation is what you could call, in layman’s terms, fingerprinting digital data. If editing occurs, the hash value of the video will change,” Calilung explained.

When asked whether edited footage would generate a different digital signature, Calilung replied: “Yes, your honor. A different hash value will be generated if the video has been edited.”

After verification, the file was stored and submitted as evidence to the House committee on justice.

Calilung confirmed that the footage replayed during Wednesday’s hearing formed part of the authenticated copy. He also confirmed that the video submitted to the committee showed no signs of editing, alteration, or use of AI.

“Can we be certain that the video you have and submitted to us is not edited, altered, or AI-generated?” Zamora asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Calilung said.

Duterte video not AI

The NBI’s findings were reinforced during questioning by Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, who asked whether the bureau had authenticated the video presented to lawmakers.

“Was the video authenticated by the NBI?” de Lima asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” replied Jeremy Lotoc, chief of the NBI’s Anti-Cybercrime Division.

De Lima then asked whether the recording could have been fabricated or generated using AI. Lotoc said investigators subjected the footage to hash analysis, a process used to verify whether digital files remain unchanged.

“Yes, ma’am. We hashed the data, the subject data, meaning the virtual press conference, which was live-streamed through [a] social media platform,” Lotoc said.

“In hashing, we applied a mathematical function to that data to convert it into a value called a hash value.”

Asked if this meant the recording had been authenticated, Lotoc answered: “Yes, ma’am, it was authenticated.”

Video replayed during hearing

The authenticated footage included Duterte’s remarks during the November 2024 online press conference.

“Don’t worry, ma’am. I already spoke with someone in my security. I told him [that] if I would get killed, you kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke. I gave my orders,” Duterte said in Filipino in the video.

“If I die, I said, ‘Don’t stop, OK? Until you have killed them,’ and he said ‘yes’,” she added.

RELATED STORY: Sara Duterte impeachment: What you need to know

The remarks were made days after Duterte visited Lopez, who was then detained within House premises after being cited in contempt by the House committee on good government and public accountability.

Lopez had been accused of interfering in the panel’s inquiry into the alleged misuse of confidential funds linked to Duterte’s offices.

Instead of immediately leaving the House complex after the visit, Duterte went to her brother’s office and later conducted several livestreams, including the one scrutinized during Wednesday’s hearing.

Duterte denies assassination threat

Duterte has repeatedly denied making an assassination threat against Marcos.

In previous public statements, she said her remarks were “maliciously taken out of logical context.”

“I did not make an assassination threat to the president. They are the only ones saying that. They are the only ones saying there was an assassin, a gunman. I did not say that,” Duterte said last year.

READ: ‘I did not make an assassination threat to the President’ – VP Sara Duterte

She also questioned why the National Security Council treated her remarks as a national security concern.

In an open letter issued last year, Duterte requested records of the council’s deliberations, including proof of meetings and minutes discussing the issue.

“I would like to see a copy of the notice of meeting with proof of service, the list of attendees, photos of the meeting, and the notarized minutes of the meeting where the council, whether present or past, resolved to consider the remarks by a vice president against a president, maliciously taken out of logical context, as a national security concern,” she said. /dm /atm

READ: Threat vs Marcos ‘maliciously taken out of context’ – VP Sara Duterte