Palace rebukes Bong Suntay for downplaying VP Sara’s kill threat vs. Marcos

Malacañang on Wednesday pushed back against Quezon City Rep. Bong Suntay for saying that Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged threat to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez was not an actual threat.

In a briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said it appeared that Suntay did not view the alleged threat against the President as serious.

“Ganiyan po talaga ang maaaring maging opinyon ng isang abogado sa kaniyang kliyente. Dito po, ang pinag-uusapan ay ang buhay ng ating Pangulo, ng First Lady, at ng dating House Speaker Martin Romualdez," Castro said.

(That may indeed be the opinion of a lawyer to his client. But here, what is being discussed is the life of our President, the First Lady, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.)

"Hindi seryoso sa kaniyang pananaw ang pagbabanta sa buhay ng isang pangulo (In his view, a threat against the life of a president is not serious),” she added.

Castro, a lawyer, explained that under the law, grave threats cover acts of threatening to commit a crime against a person, his or her honor, or property.

“Alam po natin ang kaibahan ng grave threats sa murder, homicide, at physical injuries. Ang grave threats ay sumasaklaw sa pagbabanta na gawan ng krimen ang isang tao, ang kaniyang honor o ang kaniyang property.

(Grave threats refer to threatening the commission of a crime against a person, his or her honor, or property.)

"It involves threatening another person with the infliction of a crime against the person, honor, or property of that person being threatened,” she said.

Castro stressed that threats against the life of a president are serious, whether made in jest or not.

“Seryoso po, kahit biro o hindi biro ang pagbabanta sa buhay ng isang pangulo… Kahit ano pa ang kondisyon niyan, nandoon ang pagbabanta, nandoon ang paglikha ng fear and anxiety sa taong binabantaan, nandoon ang intimidation,” she added.

(Threats against the life of a president are serious. Whatever the condition, the threat, fear, and intimidation remain.)

Castro also said Suntay could easily dismiss the remarks because it was not his family that was allegedly threatened.

“Kung sa pamilya kaya nila ito gawin, tumawag ang isang tao at sabihing, ‘I am imagining myself killing you,’ hindi ba sila mato-threaten? Nasasabi lamang nila ito dahil hindi sila ang na-threaten,” she said.

(If such words were directed at their family, would they not feel threatened? They can say that because they were not the ones threatened.)

During Tuesday's hearing on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Duterte, Suntay argued that the her words were not necessarily actual threats because they were conditional.

To illustrate his point, the lawmaker said his wife often threatens to kill him when he comes home late, yet he remains alive.

“The Vice President said she hired someone to kill [the President] if she herself was killed. Lo and behold, they are both alive. There is no overt action done,” Suntay said during a House Committee on Justice hearing on Tuesday.

For other lawmakers, however, Duterte’s remarks constitute a serious matter. They said her statements form part of the third impeachment complaint filed against her and are sufficient in substance, as her words could translate into real harm.

The Vice President has maintained that she did not threaten to kill the President, the First Lady, or the former Speaker.

On Anne Curtis

Malacañang also scored Suntay on his remark about actress Anne Curtis,saying it is a sexual innuendo

Castro said Suntay's remarks could be a violation of the law, particularly the Safe Spaces Act.

''Unang-una po, ang pag-i-imagine o pagpapantasya sa isang babae kung ito ay nasa isip lamang hindi natin masasabing ito’y krimen dahil hindi ito naisisiwalat – nasa puso, nasa utak ng isang lalake,'' she said.

(Imagining or fantasizing about the woman can't be considered a crime if it is not being pronounced.)

''Pero kapag ito ‘y ibinulalas niya at ipinagmalaki sa publiko ang kaniyang pagpapantasya sa isang babae, this is definitely a sexual innuendo. Hindi po ito masasabing walang krimen. The mere fact na sinabi niya ito in public, to the public pertaining to a particular person it is already covered by Safe Spaces Act,'' she added. 

(However, if this was pronounced and made public, this is definitely a sexual innuendo. We can't say that there's no crime here. The mere fact that it was mentioned to the public, it's already covered by Safe Spaces Act.) 

It couldn't be dismissed that no crime was committed by Suntay, who voiced out his fantasies over the actress, Castro said.

''So, hindi puwedeng sabihin na walang krimen kung ito’y ibinulalas at ipinagmalaki pa sa publiko ang isang pagpapantasya sa isang babae,'' she said.

(We can't say that there's no crime here since he's even proud of his fantasies.) 

Enacted in 2019, the Safe Spaces Act or "Bawal Bastos" Law, penalizes gender-based sexual harassment in streets, public spaces, online, workplaces, and educational institutions. 

Members of the House committee on justice have called out Suntay for verbalizing his apparent desire for  Curtis during the proceedings on the pending impeachment complaints against Vice President Duterte.

This prompted House justice panel chairperson Belle Zamora of San Juan to move to strike Suntay’s comments off the record, which was approved via a vote.

Asked if she was offended by Suntay's remarks, Castro said she was offended for every woman. 

''Na-offend ako para sa lahat ng kababaihang lalo na kung ipagmamalaki pa na karangalan ng isang babae na siya ay pagpantasyahan. Dapat pa bang ipagpasalamat na ang lalake ay nag-iisip nang malaswa sa iyong pagkababae? Nagkataon lamang siguro na siya ay nakasuot ng isang suit, nakaharap sa isang mic at may titulo bago sa kaniyang pangalan,'' she said.

(I'm offended for every woman especially if he's proud of his fantasies. Do we need to be thankful that some men are fantasizing about women? Maybe it's just a coincidence that he's wearing a suit, he's in front of a microphone, and he has a title before his name.) 

''Kung nagkataon na ang lalakeng ito ang nagsalita ay nasa isang kanto, nakahubad at sinabihan ang isang babaeng naglalakad na ini-imagine ko kung anong ginagawa ko sa iyo kasi ang ganda mo. Magkaiba ba iyon kung ordinaryong tao ang gagawa o ang tao ay supposed to be isang honorable?'' she added.

(If the person who said this was someone who's speaking along the streets, shirtless, will it make any difference from a person who's supposed to be honorable?) —MCG/AOL, GMA Integrated News