Sara Duterte threat impeachable even without hitman contract —House prosecutor

Vice President Sara Duterte's remarks claiming she had arranged for a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family if she were killed remain an impeachable offense even without physical proof of such a contract, the House prosecution panel said Wednesday.

House prosecutor and San Juan Rep. Belle Zamora made the statement in response to the defense team's argument that the prosecution failed to prove the existence of a contract to assassinate the President, as alleged under Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment.

“We must remember that we are not prosecuting a criminal case here. Our position is that the actuations of the Vice President in relation to November 23, 2024 constitute betrayal of public trust.... This is a very general term: a betrayal of public trust. We need not refer to specific elements of the crime under the Revised Penal Code,” Zamora said in a news conference.

“Contract or no contract, it is our position that her utterances made on November 23, 2024 constitute impeachable offenses, betrayal of public trust, high crimes, and culpable violation of the Constitution,” Zamora added.

Zamora and House prosecution panel impeachment adviser and former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers then cited that no criminal will leave a paper trail.

“I haven’t seen any criminal who has a physical contract. If indeed, the person is an assassin, probably, there’s no fine print there. No paper. Otherwise, if that assassin fails to meet the contract, are you going to file a case against that person for breach of contract?" Barbers said.

“He (Barbers) is right. I’m sure there is no written contract relating to hiring of an assassin. I mean, as a lawyer, I haven’t encountered such a case. I am saying that not as a prosecutor but as a lawyer,” Barbers added.—LDF, GMA News