MANILA: An agent of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) admitted on Wednesday (July 8) that he had no personal knowledge of the alleged hitman Vice President Sara Duterte had supposedly hired to kill certain individuals, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Senior NBI agent John Mark Calilung said he only learned of Duterte’s alleged threats after watching an online media briefing on Nov 23, 2024, during which she made the remarks.
“You only acquired knowledge about it when you started investigating?” defense counsel Carlo Joaquin Narvasa asked the witness during cross-examination.
“Yes, sir,” Calilung said.
“You also don’t have personal knowledge of the alleged assassin that was allegedly hired by the vice president?” Narvasa asked.
Calilung answered in the negative.
However, when later asked about the same topic by Senator-judge Bam Aquino, the witness clarified that he had no personal knowledge of the alleged assassin because he was only tasked with investigating the video.
“May I direct this to the prosecution. Will you be presenting other witnesses that will pertain to this alleged hitman?” Aquino then asked.
“As to the alleged hitman, your honor, yes,” private prosecutor Amando Virgil Ligutan.
Calilung, a digital forensic expert, was presented by the prosecution team on Tuesday as he was part of the NBI Cybercrime Division team that investigated Duterte’s kill remarks.
According to him, they started investigating Duterte’s threats “motu proprio” upon the order of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Do you understand what you just said, Sir?” Narvasa asked.
Ligutan objected to the question, saying it was “argumentative.”
The prosecutor raised the same objection when the defense lawyer began explaining the meaning of motu proprio.
“Objection, Your Honor; you don’t lecture, counsel. This is cross-examination,” he said.
Calilung later explained that motu proprio means conducting an investigation without a complaint.
“How about direct investigation? What does this mean?” Narvasa asked again.
“There’s an instruction from above, Sir,” the witness answered, “It may be the DOJ or higher.”
When Narvasa asked what was “higher than the DOJ,” the NBI agent clarified it was only the DOJ that ordered the investigation.
“You said above the DOJ,” the defense lawyer pointed out, prompting Ligutan to object again.
At this point, Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero sustained the objection.
“That’s argumentative,” Escudero said. “I heard the answer, he (Calilung) meant, as a general term, above. But referring apparently to only the DOJ in this particular instance. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
