Paolo Duterte: I’m just protecting my family   

MANILA, Philippines — After his father issued a death threat against a progressive lawmaker, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte yesterday said he came out in the open to defend his family from vicious attacks by their political adversaries. 

“It is imperative upon me to stand by my family and protect my family. I think anybody who is in my situation will do the same thing,” Duterte said. 

On Wednesday, Duterte urged ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro to “come out clean” and “stop the drama” after criminal charges were filed against his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte. 

“If the former president has said something that threatened her, then maybe she should come out clean. We all have the right to file a complaint against anyone in court. But public servants should not be onion-skinned and should not make use of this right as a tool to silence critics,” Paolo said in a statement.

The former president’s death threat against Castro prompted House leaders to unite as Castro filed a grave threat complaint against Duterte before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office on Oct. 24.   

The death threat stemmed from Castro’s scrutiny and the reallocation of the controversial confidential and intelligence funds of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte.   

“Why are they making it seem as if I am at fault when my life is being threatened and I am, once again, being red-tagged?” Castro said in Filipino. –  Sheila Crisostomo, Diana Lhyd Suelto