MANILA, Philippines – Inihayag ni National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag sa impeachment court na may iniimbestigahang person in interest (POIs) na maaaring magturo sa hitman ni Vice President Sara Duterte sa pagpatay kay Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Lisa Marcos at dating House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Sa kanyang pagtestigo sa ika-walong araw ng paglilitis ng impeachment trial, sinabi ni Matibag mayroon na silang sinusubaybayang POI sa pagkakakilanlan ng hitman ngunit hindi ibinunyag ang pangalan.
“We have leads that we are pursuing. In fact, we have already identified persons of interest who may be able to identify the individual the Vice President spoke to. It is also possible that one of these persons of interest is the very person the Vice President spoke with,” aniya.
Sa kanyang pagtugon sa tanong ni lead prosecutor Gerville Luistro hinggil sa imbestigasyon ng NBI sa taong kinontrata ni Duterte upang patayin ang mag-asawang Marcos at Romualdez.
Tinanong din ng prosecutor si Matibag na ipaliwanag nang husto upang malinawan ang pagkakakilanlan sa hitman o isa sa kanila ang maaaring actual assassin.
“They may have been present during the conversation, or they may have been the very individuals the Vice President spoke to. That is why they are considered persons of interest. However, as I said, that does not necessarily mean they were the ones the Vice President spoke to,” paliwanag ni Matibag.
Ngunit, hindi binanggit ni Matibag ang pangalan ng suspek dahil baka makompromiso ang isinasagawang imbestigasyon ng NBI.
“Respectfully, I regret that, in my capacity as NBI director, I cannot disclose the identities of our persons of interest because, as I have said, this is an open and ongoing investigation into the alleged hiring of someone to kill the President,” ani Matibag.
Giit pa ng hepe ng NBI na hindi lamang makokompromiso ang imbestigasyon kundi malalagay sa panganib ang kanilang informants at assets sa ground na magbibigay ng human intelligence.
“Naming the POIs could violate their right to privacy, and could be penalized under the Administrative Code, which prohibits unauthorized disclosure of information classified as confidential or top secret,” paliwanag ni Matibag. Ernie Reyes
