Castro on junked complaint vs. Duterte: 'I was denied justice'

ACT Teachers party-list France Castro on Saturday expressed dismay over the dismissal of the grave threat complaint she filed against former President Rodrigo Duterte. 

"Dismayado ako sa sinasabing pagbasura ng kasong grave threats na isinampa ko laban kay dating Pang. Rodrigo Duterte dahil di nito kinilala ang takot na dinala nito sa akin at sa aking pamilya," Castro said in a statement. 

(I am dismayed over the junking of the grave threat complaint I filed against former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte because it did not recognize the trauma it caused me and my family.)

"Para din nitong pinagkait ang katarungan sa akin," Castro added. 

(It seems that I was denied justice.)

Castro also said that they have yet to receive a copy of the decision. 

"Kailangan pa naming mapag-aralan ang desisyon at makipagkonsultahan sa aking mga abugado para sa mga susunod naming mga hakbang," said Casto.

(We need to study the decision and I have to consult my lawyers regarding our next steps.)

In a 14-page resolution, the Quezon City Office of the City Prosecutor (OCP) recommended the dismissal of the complaint “for want of sufficient evidence.”

“After a careful and judicious evaluation of the allegations and evidence obtaining in the complaint, the undersigned finds the same to be insufficient to indict respondents for the crime charged against him,” the resolution read.

In November 2023, Castro accused Duterte of grave threat based on the latter's television interview on Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) where he said: "Kayong mga komunista ang gusto kong patayin (It's you communists whom I want to kill)" and “Sabi ko sa kanya [his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte], magprangka ka na lang."

Duterte made the comment in defending the P650-million confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and P150 million to the Department of Education, both headed by his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte.

"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 (I told her, be frank. [Say] I will use this intelligence fund for the mental development of Filipinos because my targets are the communists there in Congress. Be frank with France Castro)," Duterte added during the interview.

According to the QC prosecutor’s office, the way or the manner by which Duterte uttered his remarks and the words he used “do not convincingly establish that indeed respondent intended them to be taken seriously.” 

It said that Duterte’s words also do not establish that they were made for the purpose of making Castro believe that they would be carried into effect.

“If the intention of the respondent was really to intimidate and to take seriously such threatening remarks/ statements… he would not have taken so much prologues and would have just directly and immediately pronounce the threats conceived in his mind,” it said.

Further, the OCP said that it must be taken into account that the statements were made during the height of the issue on confidential funds.

“Being the father of the Vice-President, the respondent would naturally be disappointed and would come to the defense of her daughter in the midst of such political issues/attacks,” it said. 

“In fact, it would appear that the respondent's heightened emotions when he uttered/stated the alleged threatening statements, remarks, comments and/or utterances were seemingly triggered by such issues due to the various politically motivated attacks against [his] daughter,” it added.

The OCP also said that it found it unusual “if not ridiculous” for an individual to make public pronouncements of death threats or threatening remarks.

The OCP added that Castro failed to obtain authentication from Facebook, YouTube, or SMNI regarding the authenticity of the post, video, or television broadcast.

“Without the necessary and proper authentication, there is no assurance that the afore-quoted threatening remarks and/or statements were correctly quoted or extracted from the original text/upload/post,” said the OCP. —VAL, GMA Integrated  News