Manila: The failed warrantless arrest of public school teacher Ronnel Mas has made the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) more cautious in acting on alleged threats against government officials, its director told the Senate impeachment court Tuesday. During the eighth day of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said agents must first build a legally sustainable case rather than risk having charges dismissed due to an unlawful arrest.
According to Philippines News Agency, Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo raised the Mas case while questioning why the teacher was immediately arrested without a warrant over an alleged threat against then-president Rodrigo Duterte, while political figures accused of threatening President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. were not subjected to the same action. Mas, then a 25-year-old social studies teacher at Taltal National High School in Zambales, was arrested by NBI agents in May 2020 after allegedly offering a PHP50-million reward on Twitter to anyone who would kill Duterte.
State prosecutors filed an inciting-to-sedition charge against him, while an Olongapo City court later allowed his provisional release after he posted PHP72,000 bail. The court, however, dismissed the charge in June 2020 after finding that Mas' warrantless arrest was invalid and that it had not acquired jurisdiction over him. The judge described the post as provocative but ruled that the arrest violated his constitutional rights.
Tulfo asked Matibag whether Mas' treatment showed a difference in how the NBI handled ordinary citizens and high-ranking public officials. Matibag acknowledged that Duterte's position as Vice President may have been among the considerations behind the absence of an immediate arrest, but said he could not speak for the officials handling the investigation at the time.
He added that the alleged statements of Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte against Marcos were included in the bureau's continuing threat assessment and case buildup. Matibag said the NBI considered the mayor's reported remark a threat that went beyond the President's personal security.
'Itinuring po namin ito na isang banta sa ating Pangulo that transcends also to national security (We considered it a threat against our President that also transcends to national security),' he said. Matibag stressed that classifying a statement as a security threat does not automatically justify a warrantless arrest, as investigators must gather sufficient evidence and follow legal procedures before filing the appropriate case.
His testimony forms part of the prosecution's presentation on allegations stemming from Duterte's November 2024 remarks concerning President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez.
