Former Senator Panfilo 鈥淧ing鈥� Lacson. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The police general who filed inciting to sedition raps against former president Rodrigo Duterte, over his alleged threat to kill 15 sitting senators, may have seen similarities in the circumstances faced by a teacher who set up a fake bounty for Duterte鈥檚 head in 2020.
Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday, said this might be the reason why Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP), filed the complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Lacson was referring to the case of Ronnel Mas, a 29-year-old social studies teacher who in 2020 made a tweet about giving a P50-million reward to anyone who kills Duterte.听 Mas was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents in May 2020.
鈥淣ag-file na 鈥榶ong CIDG (chief) and kung makaka-abot sa korte (let鈥檚 see).听 But I remember one time, during the time of the former president Duterte, merong isang tao na inaresto rin dahil sinabi niya papatayin niya si president Duterte.听 So hinuli ng pulis, nagmamaka-awa, parang nagkaroonng warrant of arrest 鈥榶on eh,鈥� Lacson said.
(The CIDG (chief) has filed a case and let鈥檚 see if it will reach the courts.听 But I remember one time, during the time of the former president Duterte, there was an individual who was arrested because he said that he will have president Duterte killed.听 He was arrested, he pleaded, I think it was because an arrest order was issued.)
鈥淪o doon ko pwedeng i-relate, i-connect, baka meron ding sense si General Torre, baka 鈥榶on ang reference niya.听 But again, it is up to, first, the DOJ to decide kung merong probable cause; and up to the court to decide kung meron talagang case,鈥� he added.
(So I can relate it to that, maybe that鈥檚 the sense behind General Torre鈥檚 thinking, maybe that is his reference niya.听 But again, it is up to, first, the DOJ to decide if there is probable cause; and up to the court to decide if there is a case.)
Last February 13, at the proclamation rally of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) Senate slate for the 2025 midterm elections, Duterte joked about killing 15 senators to make room for their candidates.
鈥淣ow, there鈥檚 many of them. What should we do? Let鈥檚 kill the senators now to create vacancies,鈥� he said in Filipino, eliciting laughter from the audience.
Several of the former president鈥檚 critics have already called him out for the remarks, with ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro saying that murder and terrorism are not joking matters.
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel 鈥� who used to be a key Duterte ally during the 17th Congress 鈥� meanwhile noted that mentioning death and killing at any given chance may be a worrying sign of a serious personality disorder.
READ: 听
After this, Torre filed the inciting to sedition complaint against Duterte.
READ: Rodrigo Duterte faces sedition rap for 鈥榢ill senators鈥� quip听
Lacson鈥檚 fellow senatorial candidates in the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, particularly former Senate president Vicente Sotto III and former senator Manny Pacquiao, have called on candidates and their supporters to refrain from mudslinging.
Sotto said that because he knew Duterte as a friend, he believes the former president was just joking.
READ: Alyansa Senate bets deescalating tension after Duterte鈥檚 鈥榢ill senators鈥� quip听
Lacson echoed Sotto, saying that Duterte has not taken a step to fulfill his threats against personalities.
鈥淎lam naman nating mapagbiro si president Duterte, lahat ng tao papatayin pero hindi naman niya talaga mine-mean talaga 鈥榶on.听 Kung lahat ng sinabi niyang papatayin niya eh tinotoo niya, wala tayo dito lahat ngayon,鈥� he added.
(We know that president Duterte is fond of making jokes, saying that he will kill everyone but I don鈥檛 think he means it.听 If he really had all of the people he wanted dead killed, we all would not be here.)
When Mas was arrested by NBI personnel, critics of the Duterte administration came out to lament a supposed 鈥渄ouble standard,鈥� as the teacher was swiftly arrested after threatening the President.听 On the other hand, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said Duterte has gotten away with threats against different individuals.
READ: Solon demands release of teacher arrested for threatening Duterte听
Mas eventually apologized to Duterte, saying that he regretted issuing the fake bounty.