MANILA, Philippines — National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag has asked House prosecutors to schedule his testimony earlier in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial due to a conflict with an international law enforcement conference in Thailand.
In a letter dated July 10 to chief impeachment prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, Matibag requested that he take the witness stand before July 20.
Matibag said he is scheduled to attend a two-day summit on scams and transnational organized crime in Thailand from July 21 to 22, organized with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Royal Thai Police.
“As Director of the Bureau, I will personally attend to represent the NBI at this summit of director and commissioner general-level law enforcement leaders across the Asia-Pacific,” Matibag wrote.
He said moving his testimony to an earlier date would allow him to fulfill both obligations without disrupting the impeachment proceedings.
Matibag is expected to testify on the NBI’s investigation into Vice President Duterte’s alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The allegations stem from Duterte’s November 2024 online briefing in which she said she had instructed someone to kill the president and his family if she were assassinated. Although Duterte later denied making a threat, prosecutors argue the remarks constitute grave threats and form a central part of the impeachment case.