Parliaments' union demands speedy action on Castro's complaint vs. ex-Pres. Duterte

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on Wednesday called for speedy action on House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro's complaint against former President Rodrigo Duterte over alleged grave threat.

The IPU, a global organization of national parliaments, made the call in its October 27 Resolution adopted during its assembly in Luanda, Angola.

"The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union is appalled that the former President of the Philippines directly threatened on air the life of a member of parliament," the group said.

IPU also said it fears that the alleged threat may deter other lawmakers from speaking out.

"The IPU demands that, in light of the serious concerns arising from this situation, the treatment of Ms. Castro’s complaint will proceed speedily; and wishes to be kept informed in this regard," it added.

In filing the complaint against Duterte, Castro cited the following statements made by the former leader in an SMNI interview which went, "Kayong mga komunista ang gusto kong patayin. Sabi ko sa kanya [Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter], magprangka ka na lang. Itong intelligence fund na ito gagamitin ko para sa utak ng mga Pilipino kasi ito ang target ko, kayong mga komunista andiyan sa Congress. Prangkahin mo na 'yan si France Castro.'”

(It's you communists who I want to kill. I told her, be frank. Say I will use this intelligence fund for the mental development of Filipinos because my targets are you communists there in Congress. Be frank with France Castro.)

Duterte made the comment in defending the P650-million confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P150 million to the Department of Education (DepEd), which are both headed by his daughter, Sara Duterte, after the House’s decision to realign the P1.23-billion confidential funds under the proposed 2024 national budget.

Sought for comment following the filing of the complaint, former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea said the former president just went to sleep after learning of the complaint.

GMA News Online has reached out to Medialdea anew regarding IPU's statement, but he has yet to respond as of posting time.

In the same resolution, the IPU also called out the Office of the Ombudsman, led by Ombudsman Samuel Martires, over its inaction on the complaint lodged by former Kabataan party-list representative Sarah Elago over senior military and government officials’ statements linking her to the armed communist or terrorist movement.

Elago filed the complaint before the Ombudsman in December 2020.

“The IPU remains concerned that Ms. Elago’s complaint regarding her alleged red-tagging is still pending with the Ombudsman with no sign of it being actively examined. The IPU also calls on the Ombudsman to take the necessary action to examine the complaint along with any steps its findings may warrant; and wishes to be kept informed in this regard,” the IPU said.

“We [in the IPU] trust that the determination of the pending charge against Ms. Elago will soon be concluded and that such determination will take full account of the conclusions reached by the Supreme Court on the petition pertaining to the same facts; and wishes to be kept informed in this regard,” the IPU added.

IPU was referencing the October 2020 and November 2020 Department of Justice (DOJ) and Supreme Court decisions, respectively.

The October 2020, a Department of Justice resolution cleared Elago of charges of kidnapping and enlisting 19-year-old Alicia Jasper Lucena into an armed group due to lack of evidence. 

In December 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition for the issuance of the writs of amparo and habeas corpus filed by Lucena’s parents.

The Supreme Court said Alicia "is not missing and her whereabouts are determinable and is staying with Anakbayan and its officers,” and since her location is known, she does not qualify as an actual or threatened enforced disappearance or extralegal killing, the the incidents covered by the extraordinary remedy of amparo.

In addition, the High Court said that it did not appear that Alicia had been deprived of liberty or that her parents had been excluded from having custody over her. 

“In so doing, the Supreme Court  concluded that the daughter was reportedly of legal age and that she had denied having been  subjected to coercion and had voluntarily chosen to join the youth group,” the IPU added. —Llanesca T. Panti/KBK/BM, GMA Integrated News