Manila: Impeachment prosecution witness Jeremy Lotoc on Tuesday traced the alleged 'Operation Romanov' threat to remarks made by Sebastian 'Baste' Duterte against the First Family, reversing an earlier impression that the supposed plot targeted Vice President Sara Duterte and her relatives.
According to Philippines News Agency, Lotoc told the Senate impeachment court that an open-source search led investigators to a January rally where Baste Duterte allegedly told President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to think about what happened to Russia's Romanov family. 'In so far as our investigation is concerned, since nag-start iyan doon kay Mayor Baste, at wala kaming ma-validate na ibang Romanov operation na nangyari, I think nag-start iyan sa kanila (since it started with Mayor Baste and we could not validate any other Romanov operation, I think it started with them),' Lotoc said.
Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo said the remark appeared to have been used as a warning against President Marcos and the First Family, a point Lotoc affirmed during questioning. The issue surfaced after the defense played a portion of Duterte's Nov. 23, 2024 online press conference, during which a participant identified as Princess Maui warned the Vice President about a supposed 'Operation Romanov' against her family.
Lotoc said investigators invited Princess Maui to clarify the allegation, but she did not appear. The information was consequently classified as unvalidated and unreliable from the perspective of the cybercrime investigators. Senator-Judge Panfilo Lacson said he had also believed until Tuesday that the purported operation was a threat against Duterte. 'I don't know about the other senator-judges, pero until today. ang impression ko (but until today, my impression) since last week. a threat ito against the Vice President,' he said.
Lacson questioned why Baste Duterte's rally speech was not included in the investigation report despite being available through open sources and potentially supporting the finding that threats had been made against the President. Lotoc acknowledged that the speech did not form part of the report because the investigation was not focused on the alleged Romanov operation.
Pressed by Lacson, Lotoc said investigators initially regarded the allegation as a possible threat to Duterte but later concluded, after reviewing the open-source material, that the Romanov reference was directed at Marcos and his family. 'Definitely against the President and his family,' Lotoc said.
Lotoc is the former chief of the National Bureau of Investigation Cybercrime Division and currently serves as its regional director in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. He was presented by the House prosecution to testify on the investigation into Duterte's alleged threats against Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
