2026 ImpeachmentTracker tracks claims made in the impeachment trial and the evidence cited for them. Status labels describe the state of evidence in the proceeding — never guilt, innocence, or a predicted verdict. This is an independent, solo-developer civic project; corrections are welcome. Read our methodology & disclaimers.

2026 ImpeachmentTracker
All claimsFactual claim
“Unverified” means:The claim has been made, but the evidence currently on the public record is not yet sufficient to assess it either way.as of

Why this status: The claim has been made, but the evidence currently on the public record is not yet sufficient to assess it either way.

What does the record show about what the NBI's investigation established, and failed to establish, regarding the Vice President's alleged threat statements?

NBI's investigation of VP's alleged threat statements

An NBI witness testified that the Bureau sent the Vice President a letter on December 2, 2024 informing her it was investigating the alleged threats and subpoenaed her to obtain validated and confirmed information about the person she allegedly contracted, that she did not appear, and that it interviewed and subpoenaed the media personalities present at the press conference, from Lian Saldin Reyes to Bonz Magsambol, all of whom said they did not know or have information about that person. The witness testified that the Bureau was unable to establish validated or confirmed information identifying that person and remains waiting for such information, and that an invited influencer did not appear, so her information about 'Romanov' was classified as non-validated. The witness further testified that the Bureau's open-source research found Mayor Baste Duterte was the first to use the term 'Romanov,' at a Maisug rally in January 2024, which in the Bureau's view made the influencer's question to the Vice President illogical, and that the Bureau understood 'Oplan Romanov' as a threat against the First Family rather than against the Vice President.

Claimed by Jeremy Lotoc (Witness)

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Positions

Witness statement

Witness

An NBI witness testified that the Bureau sent the Vice President a letter on December 2, 2024 informing her it was investigating the alleged threats and subpoenaed her to obtain validated and confirmed information about the person she allegedly contracted, that she did not appear, and that it interviewed and subpoenaed the media personalities present at the press conference, from Lian Saldin Reyes to Bonz Magsambol, all of whom said they did not know or have information about that person. The witness testified that the Bureau was unable to establish validated or confirmed information identifying that person and remains waiting for such information, and that an invited influencer did not appear, so her information about 'Romanov' was classified as non-validated. The witness further testified that the Bureau's open-source research found Mayor Baste Duterte was the first to use the term 'Romanov,' at a Maisug rally in January 2024, which in the Bureau's view made the influencer's question to the Vice President illogical, and that the Bureau understood 'Oplan Romanov' as a threat against the First Family rather than against the Vice President.

Source-linked

“The witness testified that the NBI sent a letter on December 2, 2024 to the Vice President informing her that they were investigating the alleged threats, but the Vice President did not appear.”

Evidence

Developments

  1. Impeachment Trial - Day 8Context

    The presiding officer ruled that testimony on the NBI Special Task Force would be allowed, overriding a defense objection that the task force was not cited in the articles of impeachment or the complaint and amounted to new information violating the respondent's due process; the defense was permitted continuing objections without prejudice, and the officer noted that characterizing statements as 'banta' (a threat) is a conclusion the prosecution must prove through the witness. The witness then testified that, on reviewing cases forwarded to the DOJ, Vice President Sara Duterte had been charged by the NBI Cybercrime Division with grave threat and inciting to sedition, in a case now pending at the DOJ. He further testified that she is the subject of a continuing NBI investigation into alleged threats and a plan to assassinate the President, the First Lady, and the former Speaker, and that the NBI, citing open-source intelligence, concluded the matter had escalated from a threat into a plan to kill the President and treated it as a threat to national security.

  2. Impeachment Trial - Day 9Supports this claim

    An NBI witness testified that the bureau twice subpoenaed the Vice President and other personalities to aid its investigation but that none of the invited personalities attended. The witness testified the NBI treats the Vice President's public statement about having contracted or spoken with an assassin to kill the President as an extrajudicial admission that a person was contracted, and that persons of interest were identified through intelligence reports, informants, and a process of elimination.

Evidence tiers, explained
Tier 1

The official record of the proceeding itself: session video (VODs) and transcripts, filed pleadings, court orders and rulings, admitted exhibits.

Tier 2

An official or primary document from outside the proceeding: an agency report (e.g. a COA audit), an official order or gazette entry, an authenticated original statement.

Tier 3

Reporting that describes primary material rather than being it — one step removed from the record, whoever the publisher is.

Tier 4

Commentary, analysis, or opinion: an editorial, column, press release, social-media post, or other advocacy or self-published take.

Tier 5

A publicly circulating claim whose provenance cannot be traced to any of the tiers above; never used to set a claim's status.