VICE President Sara Duterte yesterday continued to deny that she plotted to kill President Marcos Jr., saying “common sense should be enough for us to understand and accept that a supposed conditional act of revenge does not constitute to an active threat.”
She said the call of some administration lawmakers for an investigation to identify the assassin that the Vice President has contracted “makes things even more terrifying – especially because I never used that term during my recent consternation against the Marcos administration’s failure to serve the Filipinos while it masterfully persecutes political enemies.”
“This is (a) plan without a flesh,” she said in a statement. “I am confident that an honest scrutiny would easily expose this narrative to be farce, imagined, or nothing at all.”
The Vice President earlier said she was not threatening the lives of President Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos when she said that she has ordered a hitman to assassinate them in case she gets killed first during her online press conference in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Duterte said her statement was “taken out of its logical context,” and that the “Marcos administration’s insistence that the President’s life is under active threat is ominous.”
“I raise this caution as the President and his sycophants aggressively sell a narrative based entirely on my statement, which is taken out of its logical context,” she said. “There is absolutely no flesh on the bone, and despite the absence of a reliable investigation, authorities were quick to consider this a national security concern.”
“The diametric contrast and inaction are displayed when I have expressed in previous months threats to my person and continuing threats to the life of OVP (Office of the Vice President) personnel,” Duterte added.
The Vice President also decried that the Vice President Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) was “unceremoniously” assigned under the Presidential Security Command (PSC) when she resigned as education secretary last June.
“Therefore, the security of the Vice President is now under the control of the PSC and as a consequence, influenced by the decisions of the Office of the President,” she said.
“Presuming the PSC is still a non-partisan professional organization, why is the command eerily quiet on the documented threats to me, my family and the OVP personnel. The silence is then proof that the inclusion of VPSPG in the PSC is clearly to undermine my security and nothing else,” Duterte added.
The Vice President also reminded the public that the Marcos family is “known for political persecution.” “They suppress and oppress opposition. And then somebody was assassinated at the airport tarmac, di ba (right)?,” she said.
“The people were getting angry, frustrated and what did they do? They created a scenario that there is a national emergency. They set bombs to create a scenario there is a national emergency,” the younger Duterte added.
She was referring to the August 21, 1983 assassination of former opposition Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., which was blamed to the administration of Marcos Jr. father, the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“And then they assassinated their political enemy. And that’s the playbook. We already saw that in history. So, that’s my proof,” the Vice President said, adding that Aquino never had the chance to take revenge, saying it was because unlike her, he did not order anyone to take revenge for him before he was killed.
JUST ANGRY
Former president Rodrigo Duterte said late Monday night that Sara’s remarks against the First Couple ad Romualdez are not “active threats” but just a hypothetical situation on the premise that something bad would happen to her.
The former president believes her daughter made the remark out of anger.
The elder Duterte also said that those in the current government including those who served under him should also know that they do not have the capability to undertake such a kill order.
“Alam naman niyang hindi namin kaya ‘yan (He knows that we cannot do it),” the elder Duterte said referring to a statement by National Security Council under National Security Adviser Eduardo Año that the council is “closely coordinating” with law enforcement agencies to look into the threat against the President.
He likewise shrugged off the threats that legal charges, along with possible disbarment and impeachment, might be taken against the Vice President.
“Kay Inday, wala ‘yun. Kaya niya ‘yun. Insignificant masyado. Kahit kasuhan nila si Inday, hindi naman makulong ‘yan (For Inday, that is nothing. Too insignificant. Even if you charge Inday, she will not go to jail),” he said.
Administration lawmakers laughed off the former President’s statements, saying he was obviously just trying to downplay the gravity of the Vice President’s death threats and diverting public attention from the issues she is facing.
“Sobrang lumang tugtugin na ‘yung style na ganyan. Hindi na gumagana (That’s like playing an old music, that style. It doesn’t work anymore),” said La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V.
Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun also said the Marcos Jr. administration does not liquidate anyone, including political opponents and critics.
“Una sa lahat, hindi po nagpapapatay ang administrasyon natin ngayon (First of all, our administration now does not kill),” said Khonghun. “Ang nagpapapatay po ‘yung ibang administrasyon, hindi yung ngayon. Yung previous administration siguro (Maybe the other administrations, but not this one now. Maybe the previous administration).”
Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon (PL, Ko Bicol) said he was wondering why the former president said that there are threats to his daughter’s life when no one in the Marcos Jr. administration has expressed any intention to harm the Vice President.
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said the attacks only “reveal Duterte’s desperation to divert attention from the ongoing investigations into his own alleged crimes against humanity and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte’s misuse of hundreds of millions of confidential intelligence funds.”
“The Filipino people will never support a family that seeks to cling to power to evade accountability for corruption, genocide, and other high crimes,” said Dalipe. “Former President Duterte’s rant is nothing more than a desperate attempt to undermine the credibility of our government and its leaders.”
He said the military and the police are highly professional institutions “that uphold their constitutional duty to serve the nation, not political interests.”
“The military and the police will never allow themselves to be used by the Dutertes for their selfish political agenda,” he said. “Our soldiers and our policemen are committed to protecting the Republic and the Constitution, not the whims of a fading political dynasty.”
IMPEACHMENT GROUND
Zambales Rep. Jeffrey Kh onghun said Duterte’s death threats is a ground to remove her from office through the process of impeachment.
“Ang mga binitawang mga salita ng ating Bise Presidente, tingin ko impeachable offense (The words uttered by the Vice President, I think, are impeachable offenses),” he told a joint press conference with fellow administration lawmakers.
Khonghun however said House members have not yet discussed the matter because the House is too busy with both legislative and oversight work in the run-up to the Christmas break.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which is investigating Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds, said the House will just continue with its investigation while the Vice President is being investigated for her threats.
“Sa ngayon wala pa naman kaming napag-uusapan tungkol diyan. Basta kami po tinutuloy pa lamang po namin itong trabaho, kung anu po yung aming maa-unravel dito po sa committee hearing na to (As of now, we haven’t discuss it. We’ll just go on with our work, whatever gets unravelled in these committee hearings),” he said.
La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said the panel will finish the investigation before the Christmas recess so there will be enough time to file a committee report and amendatory bills.
Ortega said it was normal for House members to defend the Speaker and the House of Representatives from the Vice President’s attacks. “Siyempre po kami po ‘yung direktang binibira din nila sa HOR. So kaya kami nandito dahil pinagtatanggol namin itong bahay namin, itong HOR (Of course the HOR is also being directly attacked),” he said.
Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon (PL, Ako Bicol), for his part said: “Due process will be observed in such a way that the Vice President will be given the opportunity to answer with regard to this threat against the President, the First Lady, including the House Speaker.”
The House on Monday unanimously adopted the resolution filed by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga and Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, expressing support for the President and the Speaker.
House Resolution (HR) No. 2092 is entitled, “Expressing the unwavering and unqualified support and solidarity of the House of Representatives to the leadership of His Excellency, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., and the Honorable Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez in the face of serious and dangerous remarks and defiant acts that threaten the very foundation of democratic governance, rule of law, and public trust and integrity of government institutions.”
The other authors of the resolution include House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan and Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list.
MANIFESTO
Yesterday, Eastern Visayas lawmakers led 45 top local executives in assailing Duterte’s “reckless, divisive actions.”
In a manifesto, Reps. Anna Victoria Veloso-Tuazon of Leyte, Gerardo Espina Jr. of Biliran and Reynolds Michael Tan and Stephen James Tan of Samar, along with at least 45 Eastern Visayas officials, defended the President and Romualdez, saying what the Vice President has done was “an insult to both the Waray people and their leaders.”
“We, the undersigned local government leaders of Eastern Visayas, express our profound indignation at the malicious, baseless and reckless accusations made by Vice President Sara Duterte against Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez,” they said.
The manifesto asserts that these “unwarranted attacks are an affront not only to a leader of impeccable integrity but also to the pride and dignity of the Waray people – whose values of resilience, hard work and honor are personified by Speaker Romualdez.”
“Her reckless tirades strike at the very heart of a region that has overcome countless challenges through hard work, solidarity and trust in capable leadership,” the statement said. “Her irresponsible statements not only destabilize the unity of the administration but also erode the trust of the Filipino people at a time when cooperation and stability are paramount.”
In a separate statement, Misamis Occidental Rep. Sancho Fernando Oaminal also threw his support behind the Speaker. “It is with unconditional resolve that we join our House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez in taking a strong stand against unwarranted attacks to our esteemed institution,” Oaminal said.
“It is indeed grave and unsettling that these hostile words and acts are coming from no less than the second highest leader of the land,” he said. “The public, which deserves honest answers on the utilization of government funds,” Oaminal emphasized, “was instead answered with rude and inappropriate words attempting to deviate from the pressing issues at hand.”
SET ASIDE DIFFERENCES
Amid the increasing political tension between Marcos and the Vice President, several members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday called on the two top officials in government to focus on serving Filipinos.
In separate statements, Bishops Ruperto Santos of Antipolo and Oscar Florencio of the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines as well as Archbishop Martin Jumoad of Ozamis all asked Marcos and the younger Duterte to set aside their political differences and turn their attention to the people’s welfare.
“Set aside politics. Let them focus on the office the people have elected them. Use the resources of our country to help the poor,” said Jumoad.
“We call upon our esteemed leaders to set aside their differences and work towards a common goal of peace and prosperity for all Filipinos,” said Santos.
“All I can say is that let us maintain our composure even if things are not doing well. Let us join our hands and energies together by not succumbing to the present turn of events,” said Florencio.
Santos expressed readiness to help the two warring camps in reconciling.
“The Church stands ready to offer its support and facilitate a dialogue that can help bridge the gap between our leaders,” he said.
The prelates, though, have differing opinions regarding the political turmoil as well as the recent exchange of threats.
“I am shocked with the recent pronouncement of our VP, herself being the second (most) powerful official of our land,” said Florencio.
“Why does Congress focus on Vice President Duterte? My presumption is as good as yours,” said Jumoad in reference to the ongoing congressional probe on the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the OVP and the DepEd. – With Jocelyn Montemayor and Gerard Naval
