VICE President Sara Duterte has accused the Marcos Jr. administration of orchestrating the filing of criminal complaints of physical injuries and grave threats against her older brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, saying it was meant to divert the people’s attention from national issues.
The complaint against Rep. Duterte was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) by a Kristone John Patria based on an incident that reportedly happened on Feb. 23 at the Barrio Obrero bar in Davao City, part of which was caught on CCTV and posted on social media.
The complainant reportedly said in his affidavit that the lawmaker, who was allegedly intoxicated, assaulted him and even threatened to kill him because of a disagreement over the payment for one of the women that the congressman had ordered him to bring.
Rep Duterte has said the charges against him were fabricated and said his lawyers are still authenticating the video. He also said he would leave it to voters in his district to decide if they still want him as their representative in Congress.
Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon has confirmed the DOJ Justice received the complaint. Asked for an update, he said the cases will be evaluated, “and if the evidence is sufficient, a preliminary investigation will be conducted.”
Asked if the now viral video allegedly showing Duterte headbutting and threatening to stab Patria was submitted as part of the evidence in the complaint, Fadullon said, “I do not know what attachments are included in the complaint as the records are with the Task Force chair for assignment.”
The vice president, in an interview with reporters in Zamboanga City on Saturday night, said the government is diverting attention from the 20-per-kilo rice program which she said is “unsustainable.”
“Dahil hindi naman totoo yung pangako na ‘yun, pambobola lang naman yun sa mga tao, hindi nila kayang i-sustain, ay tinigil kaagad ng May 2, lumabas naman ‘yung complaint kuno kay Cong. Pulong Duterte (Because that promise of P20-per-kilo rice is not true, it’s only lip-service to the people, they can’t sustain it, so they stopped it on May 2, then the so-called complaint against Cong. Pulong Duterte came out,” she said.
The Department of Agriculture has said it had to temporarily stop the P20-per-kilo rice program a day after its launch because of the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) ban on the distribution of government aid during the election period.
The ban started on May 2 and will last only until May 12, election day.
“So you can see, every time something happens, that is a handiwork of the administration. What they do is they destroy their political opponents to cover up national issues,” she said in Filipino.
The vice president did not comment on the specific allegations against her brother and instead cited the Comelec’s decision last month to grant the request of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to exempt part of its Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) funds from the 10-day election spending ban.
The Comelec order, however, provided that the request for exemption “shall not involve the distribution of Ayuda, TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers), AKAP, AICS [Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations] and 4Ps [Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program] from 02 May 2025 (Friday) to 12 May 2025 (Monday) except medical and burial assistance which are normally given to qualified individuals.”
The vice president said the sale of cheap rice should not have been halted because part of the AKAP funds was exempted from the ban because the government saw an urgent public need for it.
