DOJ to summon VP Duterte over 鈥榓ctive threat鈥� to President Marcos
NBI chief Jaime Santiago and Justice Usec Jesse Hermogenes Andres —Screengrab from RTVM
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday vowed to “apply the full force of the law” in exacting criminal and other legal accountability for the death threats made against President Marcos by his constitutional successor, Vice President Sara Duterte.
At a press briefing in Malacañang, Justice Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes Andres said the National Bureau of Investigation would issue a subpoena to allow Duterte to shed light on her remarks that government lawyers considered an “active threat” against the country’s highest elective official.
“In the light of recent events—very alarming events—the government is taking action to protect our duly elected President. The premeditated plot to assassinate the President as declared by the self-confessed mastermind will now face legal consequences,” he said.
READ: Sara Duterte’s kill remark vs Marcos is ‘active threat’ – Palace
“And we will use all the resources of the government, all law enforcement agents to find out the identity of this assassin, and the legal consequences arising out of this criminal plot will be dealt with with the full force of the law,” Andres added.
Article continues after this advertisementDuterte welcomed the possibility of being served a subpoena by the NBI.
Article continues after this advertisement“I would gladly answer whatever questions they may have. At the same time, they should also answer the questions I have for them. We will talk there once the subpoena is there,” she said.
‘Ultimate beneficiary’
Andres, National Prosecution Service head Richard Anthony Fadullon, and National Bureau of Investigation chief Jaime Santiago faced the media to announce that the government was taking to task Duterte for her remarks about the plot to kill the President.
According to Andres, the DOJ is taking action on an “active threat” against the President, whether or not such pronouncements are corroborated by the government’s intelligence services.
“It is not for anyone to speak in that manner to disrupt public order by making threats, especially on the life of anyone, more so the life of the Chief Executive of this country, a duly elected leader of the country,” he pointed out.
Andres also dismissed Duterte’s statement that her pronouncements were “taken out of context.”
“We will conduct a fair, thorough and comprehensive investigation into her statements, putting them into proper context. But I simply recall that when she answered certain questions and she declared the plot to assassinate the President, she even immediately added, ‘This is no joke. This is no joke,’” he said.
The DOJ has also taken into account Duterte’s previous statements about cutting off the President’s head, Andres said.
“Please understand that if ever this threat of assassination actually happens or is accomplished, she is the ultimate beneficiary. So, her words have to be taken in the proper context,” he said.
Swift action
According to Andres, the DOJ is tapping the government’s law enforcement agents to investigate the whereabouts and the identity of the “person or persons who may be plotting against the President.”
He said the DOJ needed to “act swiftly” on Duterte’s allegations by summoning her through a subpoena so that she could clarify her statements that she had contracted a person to carry out the supposed assassination plot.
But the officials did not say what specific charges the NBI is set to file against Duterte and her alleged cohorts based on the statements she made hinting about a plot to kill the President, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Based on our initial study, sedition is a possibility. We are not closing our eyes on other possible criminal offenses, even graver than sedition,” Andres said.
According to Fadullon, the DOJ may also initiate disbarment proceedings against Duterte, who is a lawyer.
“But grave threats and sedition are obviously being considered, but we are not making that determination now. As I said, due process warrants that every angle should be investigated,” Andres added.
Police probe
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Monday said it was investigating the “facts of the case” relating to Duterte’s alleged threat against the President.
“Our focus is whether there is any truth to the claim of a hit man. We are also considering the possibility that this could be a figure of speech, or that there might be no hit man at all. This is what we are investigating, and we will include all these possibilities in our assessment,” CIDG chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday.
Torre said they would create a chronology of events, analyze the possible laws violated, and provide conclusion recommendations that would be forwarded to the higher-ups for the possible filing of charges.
The National Security Council (NSC), for its part, reiterated that “any threat to the life of the President is always considered a national security concern because it puts the country’s stability and governance at risk.”
The NSC, however, did not comment on Duterte’s demand for an explanation of why she has not been invited to the council’s meetings.
Open letter to NSC
In an open letter and statement to National Security Adviser Eduardo Año on Monday, Duterte expressed displeasure at the NSC’s statement that her alleged threat against the President was a matter of national security, while threats against her were never considered a concern for security agencies.
Duterte also said that her remark saying that she had contracted an assassin against the President was “maliciously taken out of logical context.”
“I would like to see a copy of the notice of meeting with proof of service, the list of attendees, photos of the meeting, and the notarized minutes of meeting where the Council, whether past or present, resolved to consider the remarks by a Vice President against a President, maliciously taken out of logical context, as a national security concern,” Duterte said.
She also wanted Año, her father’s former military chief, to include in the next NSC meeting her “request” to present to its members the threats allegedly made against her, the OVP, and all its personnel.
Citing Executive Order No. 115 of 1986, which included the Vice President as a member of the NSC, Duterte said she could not recall any “single notice of meeting” since she assumed office on June 30, 2022.
