MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte will have to answer before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and possibly face a gamut of “consequences” from disbarment to “legal liabilities,” after she said she had coordinated a plot to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, as well as House Speaker Martin Romualdez, should she die herself.
“In the light of recent events — very alarming events — the government is taking action to protect our duly-elected president,” said Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres in a Palace briefing on Monday, November 25.
“The premeditated plot to assassinate the President as declared by the self-confessed mastermind will now face legal consequences and we are tapping our law enforcement agents to investigate on the whereabouts and identity of this person or persons who may be plotting against the President,” Andres added.
The Palace held the briefing with Andres, Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, and NBI Director Jaime Santiago minutes after Marcos released a video message responding to Duterte’s threat and as the Vice President attended a House panel probing the supposed misuse of funds by her office and the education department that she once headed.
Both Santiago and Andres confirmed that they would be issuing a subpoena to Duterte to explain her claims — that she supposedly has spoken to a hitman to kill the First Couple and the House Speaker should she die.
At the same time, Andres said they were finding out who Duterte allegedly spoken to and where is that person. “We are not leaving any stone unturned. We will take every effort to protect the President and to investigate everyone that could possibly be involved in this assassination plot of the three high-ranking officials of the government,” added Andres, referring to Marcos, Araneta-Marcos, and Romualdez.
The First Lady is not a government official.
The Vice President’s threats
Duterte, erstwhile ally of President Marcos, made the claim in an early morning Zoom call after the Romualdez-led House, through a House panel, decided to move long-time Duterte aide Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez to a women’s correctional facility in Mandaluyong.
Lopez, who is the Vice President’s chief of staff, is under House custody after she was cited in contempt for supposedly trying to get in the way of the House panel’s investigation.
A tussle ensued between Duterte and House officials overnight, after Lopez apparently had an anxiety attack over the situation. She is currently at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center and will remain under the custody of the House panel.
Despite the drama surrounding Lopez’s detention and health, Duterte herself has not directly answered questions about the supposed misuse of intelligence and confidential funds under her watch.
Cases against Sara?
Ahead of the briefing with the three justice officials, Marcos himself had said in a taped statement that the Rule of Law must prevail. “Kailangan manaig ang batas sa anumang sitwasyon, sinuman ang tamaan,” said the President.
(The law must prevail no matter the situation, no matter who it affects.)
Asked what sort of cases Duterte could face, Andres said: “Ang bise presidente ay maraming possibleng legal liabilities sa kanyang nagawang pananalita ay mga aksyon na ginawa kasabay nito.”
(The Vice President faces a lot of possible legal liabilities because of what she said, and her subsequent actions.)
“Hindi namin sinasara ang aming pinto sa mga malalaking kaso pero ayon po sa due process, kailangan isaganap namin ang kumpletong imbestigasyon… but we assure you, the full force of the law will be used in dealing with this matter,” he said.
(We are not closing the door on the possibility of [Duterte] facing cases but according to due process, we need to finish a complete investigation.)
“Grave threats and sedition are obviously being considered, but we are not making that determination now,” Andres would later say.
He also dismissed Duterte’s walk back later of the supposed assassination plot. “Definitely, we will take it as a serious threat. Because it came from the mouth of the sitting vice president,” he said.
“A threat to the President is a threat to every Filipino,” Andres told the press conference.
Arrests soon?
Even as they considered Duterte’s threat as “serious,” the NBI said they would accord her “due process.”
“Out of courtesy, due process, hindi namin agad inaresto si Vice President dahil siya ay Vice President, napakataas na opisyal,” explained Santiago.
(Out of courtesy, due process, we did not arrest her immediately because she is the Vice President, a high-ranking official.)n
The NBI chief was asked about a 2020 case when the NBI arrested a 25-year-old public school teacher for making a Twitter post offering P50 million to kill former president Rodrigo Duterte, the current Vice President’s father.
“We are giving her the chance, due process, to answer the… yung binibintang sa kanya (allegations against her). We will ask her to appear before our office within five days from today,” he added.
Santiago agreed that disbarment could be something raised against Duterte, and he pointed out it was wrong of her to say she was acting as Lopez’s legal representative. But the NBI chief said these matters were “light” compared to the threats she made against the President.
Previously, Duterte said during a long and rambling press conference, that she had once imagined cutting off Marcos’ head, supposedly because of an incident between Marcos and a “kid,” that turned out to be a Philippine Military Academy graduate.
Andres emphasized the “very very precedent” that inaction on Duterte’s threat would set. “We have to maintain order in a civilized society by adherence to the rule of law and we will apply the full strength and force of the law on this matter,” he said. – Rappler.com