ONE of the House prosecutors in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday dismissed her claim that she did not threaten to have President Marcos Jr. assassinate, saying hiring an assassin to have the Chief Executive killed is a high crime and a national security threat.
“Hiring or even suggesting the hiring of an assassin is not just reckless rhetoric; it is a high crime that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” said Defensor.
In a press conference last Friday, the Vice President reiterated her claim late last year that she never threatened to have President Marcos Jr. killed.
One of the allegations in the Articles of Impeachment filed by the House against the Vice President is the alleged assassination threat she made during a press conference on November 23 when she said she had ordered someone to kill the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta (Marcos), at si Martin Romualdez (If I get killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez),” she told that press conference.
Defensor said the statement is clearly “an attack not just on the individuals named but on the institutions they represent, especially the Office of the President, which is at the core of our government and national security framework.”
Defensor stressed the President “is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, the *
Defensor said the Vice President is bound by her oath to defend and uphold the Constitution, and her threat statement “demonstrates a disturbing willingness to resort to violence as a political tool.”
“It does not even matter that the statement was conditional. The mere utterance of such threats in public, followed by the assurance that it was not a joke, already constitutes a crime,” Defensor said.
“By normalizing violence as a response to political conflict, she sets a dangerous precedent and a terrible example for the nation — especially as one of the highest officials in the land, sworn to uphold the Constitution and the democratic principles it enshrines,” he also said.
MULTIPLE OFFENSES
Defensor warned that the statements could constitute multiple criminal offenses, including conspiracy to commit murder, inciting to rebellion, and grave threats, all punishable under the Revised Penal Code.
“This is not just about impeachment; this is a matter of law enforcement,” he said. “Threatening or conspiring to harm the President is a serious crime that demands immediate investigation and accountability.”
Defensor said the Vice President has left the House of Representatives with no choice but to impeach her given the severity of her actions, which he said constitute “betrayal of public trust and gross violation of her duties as Vice President.”
“If this is allowed to pass without consequences, it will send a dangerous message that even the highest officials of the land can threaten national leaders and institutions without accountability. That is a risk we cannot afford to take,” he said.
Defensor also called on the public, the military, and all democratic institutions “to stand firm in upholding the rule of law and preserving the integrity of the government.”
“The Filipino people deserve leaders who safeguard democracy, not those who threaten it with violence and lawlessness,” he said. “We will ensure that this case is prosecuted with the full force of the law and that justice prevails.”
The Articles of Impeachment, which the House transmitted to the Senate for trial before it adjourned session last week, accused the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
`NOT SPECIAL’
Senate President Francis Escudero yesterday said the position of Vice President is “not special” that the Senate will be compelled to immediately convene the impeachment court even if Congress is on break.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Escudero said VP position is no different from that of other impeachable officials like the Ombudsman and chief justice of the Supreme Court.
He also said nothing in the 1987 Constitution states that the impeachment court should be immediately convened when the Vice President is impeached.
He recalled that the Senate took around two months before it convened the impeachment court in the cases of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and former Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona.
Escudero said the point he was driving at is that the position of the Vice President should be treated like the cases of other impeachable officials.
“The position of the Vice President is not special that we must speed up the process, while not for the chief justice and for the Ombudsman. They are all impeachable officers that we need to treat fairly – no more, no less, without favor, or without bias,” he said in Filipino.
Escudero is being criticized for upper chamber’s inaction on the impeachment case. The Articles of Impeachment was transmitted by the House of Representatives hours before the Senate went on an adjournment on February 5.
Congress is on break from February 8 to June 1 for the midterm elections, and will resume regular sessions on June 2 to June 13, then go on a sine die adjournment from June 14 to July 27, which officially ends the 19th Congress. The 20th Congress will start on July 28.
Escudero is wondering why some sectors, including the House, is pushing the Senate to immediately convene the impeachment court when the Articles of Impeachment was only transmitted to the upper chamber on Wednesday last week, their last session day.
He said it should be the HOR that should explain why it sat on the impeachment complaints for around two months and transmitted the Articles on Impeachment only on the last session day.
Escudero reiterated there are processes the Senate needs to complete before an impeachment court can be convened, and these can only be done when Congress is in session.
Once completed, the Articles of Impeachment will be calendared or scheduled for plenary discussions and approval of the Senate as a legislative body, and not as an impeachment court. After this, he said, the Senate will discuss the impeachment rules and have it published. By then, he said the impeachment court can be convened so that the senators will take their oath as judges of the impeachment court.
“The approval of the calendar can only be done while the Senate is in session, and not while it is on recess … And for the information of everyone, once we start with the trial, the impeachment trial can continue even if Congress is on break, just like what happened in past impeachment trials,” he said.
‘DIVERSIONARY’
House leaders brushed off the threat of Duterte ally Davao Del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez to file a complaint against the Speaker for his alleged “falsified insertions” in the 2025 national budget, saying it’s just another attempt to divert public attention from the impeachment case.
They said the complaint is “politically motivated and meant to undermine the leadership of the House.”
“It has no basis; another fantasy at fiction. It’s obviously meant to divert public attention from the real issue – the impeachment trial of VP Duterte,” deputy majority leader Rep. Paolo Ortega said in mixed Filipino and English.
“They shouldn’t make Speaker Romualdez a scapegoat to avoid accountability,” he added.
Alvarez, senatorial aspirants Jimmy Bondoc and Raul Lambino, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, and non-government organization Citizens Crime Watch announced their plan to file the complaint last Saturday. They said the complaint, which is based on the P241 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget, will be lodged against the Speaker, majority leader Manuel Jose Dalipe and former committee on appropriations chair Rep. Zaldy Co (PL, Ako Bicol).
The bicameral report on this year’s P6.326 trillion national budget which contained blank entries was earlier questioned by the camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte before the Supreme Court.
The petition filed by Duterte allies Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab and former executive secretary Victor Rodriguez.
Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, acting chair of the appropriations panel, has said the blanks were left pending final calculations to be made since lawmakers have already agreed on exact figures during the meetings.
Ortega warned that “attempts to derail the impeachment trial through politically motivated cases would only backfire.”
He urged the Senate to remain independent and not allow external influences to affect the impeachment trial.
Zambales Rep. Jeffrey Khonghun said the allegations against the Speaker “are merely an attempt to discredit the House’s overwhelming support for Duterte’s impeachment.”
APOLOGY
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday issued a public apology after he mocked the asymmetrical face of Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña, a supporter of the impeachment bid.
Dela Rosa said he got carried away.
“The past few days have weighed heavily on Filipinos, especially to us Mindanaons and other Cebuano-speaking people. Many were angered, and because I empathized with their anger, I uttered unsavory words that hurt others’ feelings,” he said in Filipino in a post on Facebook.
“I apologize for what I said and did, particularly in failing to see the bigger picture. My apologies to Congressman Perci Cendaña for my offensive comments on his person. I wish him good health. I make no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt my words have caused,” he added.
Dela Rosa and Cendaña traded words after the latter hit Duterte for belittling the impeachment complaint against her, with the Vice President saying it is more painful being dumped by a boyfriend or girlfriend than to be impeached.
Cendaña said Duterte should understand that the impeachment complaints against her is not about relationships, but rather about seeking “public accountability and liability.”
Dela Rosa then made a comment on the news organization’s page, where he mocked the facial features of Cendaña.
“Yang mukha mo, sinapak ng di natin alam kaya nangiwi. Lumapit ka nga dito kasi sasapakin kita sa kabilang mukha mo para balance (Your face is uneven because you were punched. I will punch the other side of your face to make it balanced),” Dela Rosa said.
Cendaña said his face is asymmetrical because he is a stroke survivor.
Dela Rosa’s comments earned the ire of health and medical advocates.
