Photo courtesy: House of Representatives
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Wednesday authenticated the November 23, 2024 video in which Vice President Sara Z. Duterte allegedly spoke of having someone kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she were killed.
NBI Agent John Mark Calilung confirmed before the House Committee on Justice that the video was authenticated under the bureau’s Affidavit of Authentication of Digital Evidence, an annex to its Affidavit of Investigation submitted to the panel.
The video, played during the hearing, showed Duterte saying: “Pt** ina ninyong lahat—Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong 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. No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. ’Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila.”
The video was the same clip referred to in the remaining third and fourth impeachment complaints against the Vice President, accusing her of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in connection with the alleged threat.
On questioning by San Juan Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, vice chair of the justice panel, Calilung said the authentication established that the video was not edited, altered, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
“Ang authentication po ay pagtiyak na ang video ay pareho at tunay na recording ng nangyari. Ini-ensure po namin na hindi ito edited, spliced, o AI-generated, Your Honor,” Calilung told the committee.
The NBI agent outlined its verification process, which included coordination with Meta Platforms to preserve the original URL, screen recording of the livestream, and hash value computation to detect any alteration.
“Ang hash value calculation po ay parang fingerprint ng digital file. Kung ma-edit ang video, magbabago ang hash value,” the agent explained.
Zamora also asked Calilung to confirm that the footage played during the hearing came from the authenticated copy submitted by the NBI.
“Yes, Your Honor. It is part of the authenticated video,” the agent said.
The authentication is a key development because it removes a central factual dispute over whether the video relied upon by complainants is genuine.
The committee received the video as part of the official record, alongside the NBI’s sworn findings, as it weighs whether the alleged threat meets the threshold of probable cause for impeachment.
