"The assassination plot is not a political gimmickry. It is true. And I do not want Nograles to die. We will do our best to protect him," the mayor said.
Duterte said the intelligence information on the assassination plot did not only come from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) but also from other police and military intelligence units.
"When you get the same information from more than one or two sources, there is already cause for alarm," he said, adding that he has asked Nograles to beef up his security.
Duterte, however, ruled out militant groups behind the slay plot against the congressman.
Reynaldo Esmeralda, NBI deputy director for regional operations, earlier revealed the slay plot, saying the names of four supposed hired guns from Lanao have surfaced.
Nograles believes that the slay plot might be carried not in this city, but in Metro Manila.
"I have a feeling sa Manila ako titirahin (I would be attacked in Manila)," he told The STAR a few hours after Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin was gunned down in front of the Mt. Carmel Church in Quezon City the other day.
Despite the slay plot, Nograles said he has not gotten additional security personnel.
"I will just do my best not to go to places that would make me an easy (target) for them," he said.
Meanwhile, Nograles said he would never betray the trust and confidence of his position by embarking on any move to unseat Speaker Jose de Venecia.
Nograles said he could not do such a thing and betray De Venecia just so he could become Speaker. — Edith Regalado