December 7, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Former Malacañang press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday, after being summoned to provide information regarding alleged threats made by Vice President Sara Duterte during a press conference last Nov. 23.
Angeles said she attended Duterte’s virtual press conference on Nov. 23 as a “political vlogger.”Duterte claimed that she had arranged for President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez to be killed in case she was assassinated.
The NBI previously sought statements from three reporters who were assigned to cover the Office of the Vice President (OVP) as part of its ongoing probe.
Duterte, in response to the controversy, stated that her remarks had been “maliciously taken out of logical context.”
She is scheduled to appear before the NBI on Dec. 11 to address the matter, a reschedule of her Nov. 29 summon.
Tonypet Cabe, legal counsel for two OVP staff members subpoenaed by the NBI, also arrived at the bureau to represent his clients.
Will VP face NBI?
Meanwhile, despite a possible conflict of schedule with the NBI summons for Dec. 11, bureau director Jaime Santiago still hopes Duterte will appear.
Along with the scheduled appearance for a subpoena issued against Duterte, the OVP will be holding a yearend thanksgiving lunch with members of the media.
Santiago remains optimistic that the Vice President will appear at the 10 a.m. session.
The event at the OVP will be held at 11 a.m. based on an invitation sent to members of the media.
“It should be noted that we scheduled her appearance at 10 a.m. on the same day. We’ll wait for her explanation regarding this, but we’re hopeful she will attend as it’s an earlier time,” Santiago said.
The NBI’s first subpoena to Duterte was issued last Nov. 29, but she did not appear due to a House hearing postponement coinciding with the summons.
Santiago said the investigation would proceed even if Duterte is unable to attend, provided she does not offer a justifiable reason for her absence.
Be the first to comment