THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has summoned Vice President Sara Duterte to appear at the preliminary investigation this month in connection with the charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over her alleged threat to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if a purported plot against her life succeeds.
Duterte on Tuesday night said she has received the summons.
“In fact, ako man ay naka-receive din kanina ng summons sa Office of the Prosecutor sa finile ng NBI na kaso laban sa akin (I have earlier received the summons from the Office of the Prosecutor for the case filed by the NBI against me),” she told reporters in Sogod, Southern Leyte.
She made the statement when she was asked to comment on the qualified human trafficking case slapped by the DOJ against former Palace spokesman Harry Roque.
She said she was not surprised that Roque was charged because “he is really among those with strong voices and have the guts to say what’s wrong with this administration.”
The NBI on February this year recommended to the National Prosecution Service the filing of inciting to sedition and grave threat complaints against Duterte.
The crime of grave threats penalizes statements that create real and imminent danger to specific persons, regardless of whether actual harm occurs.
On the other hand, the crime of inciting to sedition penalizes statements that pose real and imminent threat to public order, regardless of whether actual unrest occurs.
Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon told reporters the preliminary investigation is set on May 9 and 16 at 2 p.m.
During the preliminary investigation, state prosecutors are expected to ask Duterte to submit a counter-affidavit, review the evidence to be submitted by both parties, and assess whether the case meets the higher threshold of evidence for filing in court, or whether the case should be dismissed for lack of evidence.
The Supreme Court has previously ruled that what matters in such cases are the intent behind the words – if they were meant to convey a serious threat or instill fear.
The NBI’s complaint stemmed from a midnight rant by Duterte in November last year where she cursed Marcos and told reporters that she has contacted an assassin to kill the First Couple and Romualdez if something bad happens to her.
“Huwag kang mag-alala sa security ko kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez (Do not worry about my security because I’ve already spoken to someone. I told that person to kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez if I were to be slain),” she told reporters during an online press conference.
Duterte made the statement as she slammed
the order of the House of Representatives to transfer her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong from the chamber’s detention facility after she was cited in contempt in relation to the chamber’s inquiry on the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) when Duterte was still its secretary.
The vice president later denied making any threats against the president, saying her statement was only meant to highlight the alleged threat to her life.
She also said that her remarks were taken out of context by the media.
