Sara Duterte asks NBI to send questions in advance

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to provide her with their questions in advance before she faces their probe on her remarks that she has ordered a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. if she is assassinated. 

Duterte's lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim, in a letter sent Friday, November 29, to the NBI, invoked her constitutional rights as the subject of a criminal investigation in asking the agency to provide "questions you intend to ask her." 

Besides the advance questions, Duterte's lawyer also asked for a "clear copy of the complaint filed against her or any other document that initiated this investigation." 

"Since she is evidently the very subject of your criminal investigation and not an ordinary witness, our client enjoys all relevant rights under our Constitution," Duterte's lawyer said in the letter addressed to NBI Director Jaime Santiago and NBI Assistant Director Glenn Ricarte. 

Access to the advanced questions and the other requested materials would allow the vice president to "make an informed decision on what relevant information she may possibly provide," the letter said.

The request came as Duterte skipped her scheduled 9 a.m. appearance at the NBI headquarters on Friday where she was supposed to explain her side to investigators on her remarks about having the president, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if she were to be assassinated.

The NBI, through a subpoena issued on Tuesday, asked Duterte to "shed light on the investigation" into her potential violations of grave threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code and possible violations of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. 

Will the NBI grant Duterte's request? Santiago addressed the matter in a press conference on Friday, over an hour after Duterte's lawyer confirmed that she would not attend the NBI's investigation.

The NBI director initially said that they were willing to comply with Duterte's requests as the second-highest official in the country.

Later, when asked to confirm his answer, Santiago said he was still mulling Duterte's request to be given an advance copy of the