National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago on Thursday invited lawyer Salvador Panelo, former presidential legal counsel under the Duterte administration, to be his seatmate in a law school refresher session. The remark was Santiago’s response to Panelo’s criticism of the NBI’s recent recommendation to file charges against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Panelo had earlier suggested that Santiago should “go back to law school” after the NBI accused the Vice President of inciting to sedition and making grave threats. In a press conference, Santiago responded with a sharp retort.
“Maybe Attorney Panelo was just joking. Maybe we don’t have to go back to law school,” Santiago said. “It’s the start of the second semester, and they will be teaching Book 2 of the Revised Penal Code. Maybe we can just sit in with the first-year students so that he can understand that the charges we filed were correct.”
Santiago, a retired Manila Regional Trial Court judge, defended the NBI’s findings, insisting that the charges against Duterte were legally sound. He maintained that the bureau’s decision was based on careful legal assessment and should not be dismissed as politically motivated.
Before his judicial career, Santiago was a decorated officer in the Philippine National Police (PNP), where he gained recognition as a sharpshooter. His exploits in law enforcement were even dramatized in a 1996 film.
Panelo has yet to respond to Santiago’s challenge, but his initial remarks reflect the ongoing political tensions surrounding the case against the Vice President. Duterte’s camp has strongly denied the allegations, calling them baseless and politically driven.
The exchange between Santiago and Panelo underscores the highly charged atmosphere as legal and political battles continue to unfold in the country.
It is already evident that the vp has posted a video about the assassination plot (not attempt yet) for the president PBBM, the 1st lady and speaker romualdez if anything happens to her. So blatanly spoken on social media and now she says she did not mention any assassination plot? She is loco.