Vice President Sara Duterte 鈥擣ile photo by Lyn Rillon | Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Vice President Sara Duterte鈥檚 claim of being the target of an assassination threat are 鈥渇ake,鈥� according to the statements earlier issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police (PNP).
Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre likewise said in a statement on Sunday:聽 鈥淭he supposed assassination threats against Vice President Duterte are fake 鈥� completely unfounded and baseless.鈥�
鈥淭hey are as fabricated as the names 鈥楳ary Grace Piattos鈥� and 鈥楰okoy Villamin,鈥� which were used to justify the alleged misuse of confidential funds,鈥� he added.
搁贰础顿:听PNP has no info about a 鈥榗redible threat鈥� vs VP Sara Duterte鈥檚 life
搁贰础顿:听NBI seeks VP Sara Duterte鈥檚 cooperation in probing threats to her life
Acidre was referring to the names listed as the recipients of confidential funds from the Duterte-led Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
Acidre pointed out that the threat against Duterte鈥檚 life was first heard from the vice president herself. He was referring to Duterte鈥檚 remark saying that she had talked to someone to kill聽 President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez should she be assassinated.
On the other hand, the names 鈥淢ary Grace Piattos鈥� and 鈥淜okoy Villamin,鈥� appeared on acknowledgment receipts submitted by the OVP and DepEd to the Commission on Audit to account for disbursed confidential funds totaling P612.5 million.
鈥淚nvestigations found no official records for Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin, with the Philippine Statistics Authority confirming they do not exist in its civil registry, raising suspicions the names were fabricated,鈥� the statement said.
鈥淢ary Grace Piattos, a name that coincidentally combines a popular restaurant and a snack brand, and 鈥淜okoy Villamin,鈥� whose receipt signatures displayed inconsistent handwriting, have come to symbolize alleged misuse of public funds,鈥� it added.
Likewise, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman also dismissed Duterte鈥檚 claims.
鈥淟ooking at the videos of her threats against the president and her claim that there鈥檚 a threat against her life, my interpretation of that is that it鈥檚 a call for help. Maybe he is looking for sympathy from his supporters. For me, it鈥檚 non-existent. I don鈥檛 believe there is a real threat to VP Sara鈥檚 life,鈥� Roman said in a mix of English and Filipino.
However, she pointed out that there were credible threats against Marcos.
Last December 2, the PNP said that it had not received any 鈥渃redible鈥� threat against the life of Duterte.
The following day on December 3, the AFP also said that it had not received any 鈥渃onfirmation鈥� or information on Duterte鈥檚 claims.
But both the police and military gave an assurance that they would protect the vice president.