MANILA – Malacañang on Wednesday maintained that Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. should not be treated as ordinary grave threats but as a serious national security issue.
In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro rejected the defense panel’s argument before the Senate impeachment court that Duterte’s statements were merely a response to questions in a November 2024 press briefing and did not constitute threats.
Duterte, during a virtual press conference in November 2024, said she had contracted someone to assassinate Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed.
Castro said Duterte’s threat went beyond a simple criminal offense because it concerned the country’s head of state.
“Hindi ito simpleng grave threats na maaaring isampa diyan sa korte. Hindi involved dito ang simpleng tao. Ang pinag-uusapan po natin dito ay Pangulo. Ito ay isyu about national security (This is not a simple case of grave threats that can just be filed in court. This does not involve an ordinary person. We are talking about the President here. This is a matter of national security),” she said.
Castro also questioned the defense’s claim that the remarks were not directly aimed at the President because they were made during a livestream.
She said the statements were publicly broadcast and widely viewed, making it impossible to argue that those mentioned would not have learned about them.
She also dismissed as “ridiculous” the argument that the remarks did not amount to an assassination plot.
“Dapat ang katotohanan ang lumabas dito, ang katotohanan para sa taumbayan. Huwag natin palabuin ang kuwento para lang magligtas ng sinuman. Katotohanan ang nais ng mga kababayan natin dito (The truth should come out here – the truth for the Filipino people. We should not cloud the story just to shield anyone. The Filipino people want the truth),” Castro said.
Castro noted that Duterte herself never denied making the statements, with her lawyers instead offering reasons to justify them, including the alleged oppressive treatment of her former chief of staff Zuleika Lopez by the House of Representatives and supposed threats against her.
She added that Duterte and the alleged killer already had a “meeting of the minds” when they reached an agreement.
“Since it was the Vice President who admitted in this video that she had already talked to a person who was willing to kill the President, the First Lady, and the House Speaker. Ano pa ba ang dapat na patunayan (What else still needs to be proven)?” Castro said.
She also distinguished Duterte’s case from that of a public school teacher who was arrested for allegedly threatening former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Castro said the teacher merely offered money to anyone willing to kill the former leader, while the Vice President herself claimed to have spoken with a person who agreed to carry out the act.
“So, kung hindi ito assassination plot at walang pagbabanta sa buhay, ano ang ginawa ng Bise Presidente? May iba pa ba siyang meaning sa mga sinabi niyang iyon (So, if this was not an assassination plot and there was no threat to life, what did the Vice President do? Did she mean something else by those statements)?” she said.
“In the first place, wala siyang dineny na ito ay kaniyang sinabi, dyina-justify na lamang nila kung bakit nila ito sinabi (She did not deny that she said them; they are just justifying why she said those things),” Castro added, referring to the defense panel. (PNA)
