A TOP police official yesterday filed charges of inciting to sedition and unlawful utterance against former President Rodrigo Duterte before the Department of Justice over his remark in a campaign rally to kill senators so that the candidates he is endorsing will win Senate seats.
Brig. General Nicholas Torre, chief of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said Duterte’s remarks could be taken seriously by his supporters, adding this has happened during the latter’s anti-drug war.
“We have already submitted complaints for unlawful utterances and inciting to sedition against the former president. The case is now docketed and under case build-up,” Torre told reporters in a chance interview yesterday.
“This is the new Philippines. Statements that are passed off as joke the following day should no longer be allowed,” he said in Filipino.
Torre also said he filed the complaints in his capacity as a private citizen, a policeman, and CIDG chief.
Torre’s filing came a day after Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto-Adiong asked the NBI to investigate the statement made by Duterte during a proclamation rally of the PDP-Laban party last week in San Juan City.
Earlier yesterday, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Duterte’s kill remark is likely just rhetoric, but he will leave the decision to the NBI.
NBI chief Jaime Santiago said Duterte’s remark is “rhetoric” that is part of “political propaganda.” He also said it would be good if a senator or senators would formally file a complaint and ask for an investigation.
Duterte’s kill remarks, which his supporters downplayed as a joke, have drawn criticism, including from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr..
Torre chief dismissed this defense, saying the former president cannot just say those kinds of things and later claim it was a joke or a legal opinion.
He said Duterte’s statements may be taken “seriously by his blind supporters,” noting it happened during Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, when he said drug addicts should be killed.
“It already happened… the fact remains there were many who were killed. He encouraged it during his term,” Torre said.
Asked if he consulted PNPP higher-ups before filing the complaints, Torre said, “I told my bosses that I am filing the case.”
“We have latitude to decide on our own on this level, so I decided to go forward with my decision. I did this as a patriotic Filipino at alagad ng batas na dapat nagpapatupad ng batas,” he added.
He also said his move is “beyond politics,” adding he will never make such a move if it is based on politics or due to political consideration.
He said the complaint enumerated the violations.
POLICY ON THREATS
Adiong said while he respects Santiago’s position, the question remains, “Do we allow this kind of rhetoric in the first place?”
“Do we actually normalize this kind of talks? Especially if it’s uttered in a very important event like a proclamation rally?” Adiong told a joint press conference. “If we believe in the phrase that no one is above the law, it should be applied to everyone.”
While an ordinary person can be arrested and charged for making a bomb joke or for threatening someone, Adiong said, he does not see “any reason it should not be applied to a certain individual simply because he’s higher in stature or in influence.”
“We are merely trying to convey a message where if there is a policy that any threats, no matter how you say it, utter it, whether it’s a joke or not, you are not allowed to say things about killing other people,” he said.
DIFFERENCE
Santiago distinguished between Duterte’s remarks and the remarks made by his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, who last year said she has contracted a hitman to kill President Marcos Jr, First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez if she is killed.
joke,” Santiago added.
“There is a difference. The remark of former President Digong was made in a political rally while the one made by the Vice President was in a press conference she called and she specifically named those she wants dead, and she said it was no joke,” he said.
Earlier, the NBI filed complaints of inciting to sedition and grave threats against the Vice President Sara Duterte who has said her remarks were taken out of “logical context.” – With Wendell Vigilia
