Prosecution to tackle Sara Duterte's alleged threat vs. Marcos first

The House prosecution panel said it will first present evidence on Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family, saying it wants to underscore that "impunity is not acceptable."

The prosecution was referring to Duterte's expletive-laden online press conference in November 2024, during which she said:

"Pt** ina ninyong lahat—Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong Marcos. Huwag kang mag-alala, Ma'am, sa security ko, kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sabi ko sa kanya, kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez.

("*Expletive* Don't worry about my security because I've already talked to someone. I told that person that if I am killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.)

"No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma'am. 'Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila."

(No joke, no joke. I already gave instructions. If I die, don't stop until you have killed them.)

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co, one of the prosecution panel's spokespersons, said the panel chose to present this article of impeachment first because it wants to send a strong message against impunity.

"Regardless of who was allegedly contracted to carry out the assassination or who the intended targets were, we do not want that. We do not want to hear a public official saying that such a plan exists or that someone has been asked to carry it out," she said at a press conference.

"This is about going against the culture of impunity. We want to make an example that contracting a hitman is never acceptable, regardless of who the intended target is," Co added.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong, another spokesperson for the House prosecution panel, agreed, saying no one—especially an incumbent vice president—should take justice into his or her own hands.

"It is safe to say that we value decency in whatever we do, all the more for someone who enjoys public support, authority, and a mandate," he said.

"What we are talking about here is whether she remains fit to continue serving as Vice President based on her behavior and her propensity to make statements that undermine the rule of law and the principle that no one should take justice into their own hands," Adiong added.

Adiong also argued that the alleged threats are significant because they were supposedly made by someone who stands to benefit if they were carried out.

"The one making all these threats is the direct beneficiary—someone who would stand to benefit if the President were taken out of the picture. That much is clear to the Filipino people, which is why we will discuss that first," he added.

Private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said the alleged threats against the President are among the least disputable allegations in the impeachment complaint.

"Napanood natin pare-pareho ang video kung saan pinagbantaan ang buhay ng Presidente, First Lady, at dating Speaker of the House. Maliwanag din doon na sinabi na may kasunduan sa isang assassin para gawin ito.

(We all saw the video in which the lives of the President, the First Lady, and the former Speaker of the House were threatened. It was also clearly stated that there was an agreement with an assassin to carry it out.)

"Sa tingin namin, dahil ang factual issues dito ay less complicated compared to the other financially related articles of impeachment, mas madali ito," Tolosa said.

(We believe the factual issues here are less complicated than the financially related articles of impeachment, making this the easier issue to present first.)

"So, we decided to start with this," Tolosa added.—MCG, GMA News