‘They are really father and daughter’

MANILA, Philippines — By saying at a campaign rally that 15 senators could be killed to create vacancies in the chamber, former president Rodrigo Duterte was acting true to form as the father of Vice President Sara Duterte, a congressman said yesterday.

“They are really father and daughter. The daughter threatened to kill the President and the Speaker. The father, on the other hand, wants to kill the senators,” House Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list said yesterday.

He was reacting to the former president telling supporters at Thursday’s PDP-Laban proclamation rally that senators could be killed so that his senatorial candidates could win in the May elections.

In November last year, Vice President Duterte warned on live video that she had put out a contract  to have President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez killed should an alleged assassination plot against her succeed. The threat was one of the grounds for her impeachment.

At the PDP-Laban proclamation rally, Duterte remarked that killing at least 15 senators would leave vacancies that his candidates could fill.

“Now that they’re too many, what do we do now? Kill the senators so there will be vacancies. If we kill at least 15, then we’ll all be in,” he said in Filipino to the applause of supporters.

In a statement, Acidre observed that the statement of the former president mirrors his daughter’s death threats against Marcos, the First Lady and the Speaker.

Acidre stressed that threatening officials in public should not be taken lightly as such constitutes a criminal offense under Philippine laws. He said threats of violence – even intended as a joke – have serious consequences.

Furthermore, the former president’s “kill the senators” remarks could further strengthen the impeachment case against his daughter and result in her conviction.

In the Articles of Impeachment transmitted to the Senate, the Vice President was accused of betraying public trust by making reckless public statements that threatened the security of high-ranking officials.

Complainants in the impeachment case argued that the Vice President should not have engaged in rhetoric suggesting threats against the sitting President and other high-ranking officials.

Such remarks, they said, undermine stability and erode public confidence in the executive branch. Duterte’s refusal to clarify her statements in subsequent interviews and hearings only heightened concerns over a potential destabilization effort against the administration.

Earlier this week, National Bureau of Investigation director Jaime Santiago announced that relevant complaints had been filed with the Department of Justice.

“The law applies to everyone, regardless of position. The Vice President is not immune from criminal prosecution,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said after the filing of the case.

Appeal to the Senate

Meanwhile, two leaders of the Young Guns in the House of Representatives said the Senate should listen to growing public clamor for a Senate trial of the Vice President.

At a press conference, House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union and Assistant Majority Leader Ernesto Dionisio Jr. of Manila made the appeal as progressive groups were gearing up for mass actions to pressure the Senate into convening as an impeachment court.

“VP Duterte has been impeached in the House. The ball is no longer in our court. Although, we understand the frustrations coming from different groups. Here in the House, we respected their jurisdiction. But they should listen to the pulse of the majority,” Ortega said.

“We don’t want to intervene. Although, if there is such a big clamor, I think they should re-assess or look for what’s the best course of action they should take,” he added.

He also laughed off suggestions from supporters of the former president to make him run again in 2028.

“This is the most desperate plan I’ve seen. It shows they’ve run out of cards to play,” Ortega said in a statement.

He emphasized that the 1987 Constitution prohibits a president from seeking reelection. “It’s evil to think that we can just fool the people with misinformation when our Constitution strictly prohibits the reelection of a president,” Ortega said.

“He cannot run again unless the Constitution is amended. This is clear in our laws,” he stressed.

He said the public is being made to believe that Duterte can still run again.

“Pambubudol or diversionary tactic. They are trying to distract us from the real issues. They are making everything as a comedy,” Ortega said.

“We must be cautious and not allow ourselves to be deceived by these desperate moves,” Ortega said, addressing the public.

For his part, Dionisio said it’s clear in the Constitution that the Senate should “proceed with the trial forthwith” if an impeachment complaint is signed by one-third of all members of the House of Representatives.

The impeachment petition against Duterte was signed by 215 House members, representing more than two-thirds of the 306 members of the chamber.

“I heard the word forthwith. It simply means, if I’m not mistaken, it has to be immediate without delay. Delay is relative. My analogy, in my humble opinion, when Filipinos say immediately, it has to be done right away,” Dionisio said.

“When you say immediate, it is right away. You go out of your way to do it right away, if it’s immediate, that is forthwith. So in my opinion, that’s what should be done,” he added.

But he said it would be up to senators to interpret relevant provisions of the Constitution.

“We don’t want to intervene in the action of the Senate and we respect our co-equal branch in Senate,” he said.

Sure of conviction

A member of the House prosecution panel, for his part, said he is sure of Duterte’s conviction based on the evidence and other information in the Articles of Impeachment transmitted to the Senate.

Asked about the chances of Duterte’s conviction in a scale of one to 10, House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said it’s a 10 or very likely.

He also expressed preference for Duterte’s physical presence during trial.

“I would prefer if she will testify. But I can finish my Article with or without the Vice President,” he told House reporters.

He did not say which article he would be handling. He said it’s possible the prosecutors would be made to handle multiple articles.

“We can cross over with other articles. Some of the articles are interrelated, especially if the charge is betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution,” he explained.

Regarding the structure of the prosecution team, Defensor said, “For now, we have no lead prosecutor. I have to tell you that. But there is camaraderie among prosecutors,” he said. “We can go even without a lead prosecutor and just divide the articles amongst ourselves.”

Defensor also acknowledged the support from various legal experts. “There are some lawyers who are helping us, not just the public prosecutors from Congress. Many legal eagles from the entire Philippines volunteered to us. They want to proceed with this impeachment trial,” he said.