Sara Duterte: Was Hontiveros abetting rebellion on TV interview?

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte on Thursday raised the possibility that Senator Risa Hontiveros could have abetted rebellion when she implied that the actions of the Maute group in Marawi City should not be considered as such.

The presidential daughter directed her inquiry to the Department of Justice.

“Question lang sa DOJ, kung rebellion ang crime and this woman is saying it is not rebellion, are her words encouraging them to commit the crime? And so it becomes abetting rebellion?" Duterte said in a Facebook post.

"She works for the government that the terrorists are fighting... paki explain beh. Wala gyud ko kasabot [I really don’t understand],” she added.

Duterte was referring to Hontiveros’ interview on UNTV, which was attached to her post.

The senator said that Maute’s actions in Marawi were not considered rebellion and invasion, which are the only two events that will allow a president to declare martial law.

She said that a rebellion meant a section of the Philippines, like a city or the residents of a territory of the country for example, pulled away from the government.

“That was not the case eh… Strictly speaking, hindi iyan rebellion ng Marawi City at ng Marawi residents,” Hontiveros said of Maute’s raising of ISIS flag in different parts of the city.

“Hindi rin siya invasion. Hindi naman tulad sa Zamboanga City noon na may siege talaga, na may puwersang armado… Iyon ang armadong puwersa na pumasok sa labas at pumasok sa isang lugar na may intensyong pumasok sakupin siya, kontrolin siya at gumanap ng kaharasan,” she added.

As the host explained that the Marawi case was just the same, Hontiveros replied: “Hindi po. Strictly speaking, not according to the definition of the Constitution.”

Towards the end of the clip, the senator said that the government should have revealed the real timeline of events.

“Dapat may ibang tugon. Dapat hindi martial law sa Mindanao, but isa pang mas appropriate, tukoy na malakas na aksyon laban sa Maute group na iyan sa Marawi City,” she said.

But in the comments section of her Facebook post, Duterte even raised that Hontiveros seemed to have acted like a spokesperson of the Maute group.

“[P]aki explain sakoa ni.. kay murag na siya spokesperson sa mga terrorista.. and why is nobody doing anything about this???” she said.

[Please explain this to me… because she’s like the spokesperson of the terrorists.]

Hontiveros earlier slammed those who painted her as supportive of the Maute group and dubbed the efforts as a “fake news campaign.”

She clarified in a public forum that ISIS-linked Maute is a terrorist group as well as an enemy of peace and development and the people of Mindanao.

Hontiveros said that the actions of the Maute should be condemned by all.

When a netizen pointed out Hontiveros’ explanation, the Davao City mayor asked if the video she watched was dubbed.

“Fake news to?? Meaning gi dub ang words sa iyaha interview? Serious ko ba.. Kay makahadlok man gud kung senador unya mudepensa ug kriminal, whether rebel or terrorist. Naa ni tinuod na video?” she said.

[Was it fake news?? Meaning her words during the interview were dubbed? I’m serious… because it’s scary that a senator would defend a criminal, whether rebel or terrorist. Is there a genuine video of this?] —NB, GMA News