LAWMAKERS on Saturday condemned Vice President Sara Duterte for her “disgusting” remarks in a press conference Friday, including a threat to dig up the remains of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and to throw his body into the West Philippine Sea.
In a two-hour tirade Friday, Duterte also said she daydreamed of beheading President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in remarks that former senator Leila de Lima described as “unhinged.”
“I honestly believe that VP Sara is a bit unhinged to say such things as throwing the body of a man out to sea and imagining to chop off the President’s head while making out her father to be a fair person who did not cross anyone,” she wrote on the X social media platform.
Vice President Sara Duterte let out a mouthful against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his capability to run a government in a two-hour press conference in her office in Mandaluyong City on Oct. 18, 2024. PHOTOS BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE
“Her line of thinking is not aligned with reality, and that is concerning,” she added in Filipino.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, urged Duterte to testify under oath on the alleged misuse of confidential funds, the use of military funds, and the establishment of safe houses.
In multiple statements on Saturday, House Assistant Majority Leader and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that threatening to desecrate the dead just to shift the narrative is just “unacceptable” and urged Duterte to answer all the allegations hurled against her instead of stooping “to such shameful actions.”
“This isn’t just political banter — it’s a blatant act of desecration. In our culture, we honor the dead. To use them as pawns in a political game is disgusting. Vice President Duterte should focus on addressing the misuse of public funds instead of resorting to such disgraceful tactics,” Adiong said.
Adiong added that her comments are a “new low in public discourse” and a “direct attack on cultural values.”
1Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez said that Duterte resorted to vile threats instead of facing allegations head-on, describing it as “pure desperation.”
“It’s a clear attempt to divert attention, but no amount of disrespect will cover up her mismanagement,” Rodrigo said.
For Taguig City Rep. Amparo Maria Zamora, using and disrespecting the dead runs counter to Filipino culture.
“Disrespect for the dead is not humane, and it is not Filipino. We don’t do that to anyone who has died, whether they are relatives or not. In fact, we love our departed. We visit them in their resting places whenever we can,” Zamora said in Filipino and English.
Meanwhile, House Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre believes that the revelation that the OVP misrepresented its P16 million fund for military-related activities — which were actually funded by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and local government units —is a “clear misuse of public funds.”
“The vice president claimed her office spent millions on activities already fully funded by the military. Why lie about where the money went? We need to know what the OVP did with these funds,” Acidre said.
Acidre believes that the use of AFP certifications by the Office of the Vice President to justify the office’s spending misled state auditors and the public.
“This is not just about accounting errors; this is deception. Using the military to cover up the improper use of confidential funds is an egregious act,” Acidre said.
La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega added that the public has a right to know why P16 million was spent on 34 safehouses in just 11 days in 2022.
“We are still waiting for the vice president to explain the need for 34 safehouses in less than two weeks. The public has a right to know why P16 million of their money was spent so dubiously,” Ortega said.
Ortega said that Duterte must testify under oath in the next hearing and come clean about these expenditures.
“If there’s nothing to hide, she should testify under oath. This is public money, and the Filipino people deserve transparency and accountability. No more evasions, no more squid tactics,” Ortega said.
Acidre said that instead of addressing the legitimate concerns of the public, she dismissed them as political attacks, which he believes sows division and distracts from the urgent challenges people face.
Opposition leaders also hit Duterte.
In a statement on Saturday, Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña said Duterte’s televised “outburst” is an “obvious and desperate attempt to divert public attention” from the House of Representatives quad committee investigating the war on drugs during the administration of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The former president’s allies, Sens. Ronald Dela Rosa and Bong Go, are under “intense scrutiny,” Akbayan said.
“Sara Duterte’s tantrum is a frantic bid to distract the nation from the damning revelations emerging from the quadcomm hearings,” Cendaña said.
“These hearings have laid bare their involvement in the abuses and corruption during her father’s regime, especially in the widespread extrajudicial killings linked to the war on drugs. No amount of theatrics can shield them from accountability,” he added.
Cendaña also said the suggestions of Dela Rosa and Go to hold their own investigation into the drug war were “shameless.”
“Ang kakapal ng mukha. (How shameless!) The audacity is staggering. Sila ang sangkot pero sila ang gusto mag-imbestiga? (They’re the ones involved, but they also want to investigate?) The sheer gall is unbelievable,” he said.
The party-list also said they were disappointed in Vice President Duterte’s failure to address national concerns, especially when mentioning the West Philippine Sea in her tirade.
“She has been silent while our fishermen faced harassment and our sovereignty was threatened. Now, in a desperate attempt to deflect, she suddenly brings up the West Philippine Sea. When VP Sara spoke on the West Philippine Sea, she used it as a threat to her political rivals,” Cendana said.
Despite opposition from the public, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the martial law dictator, was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016, which was widely seen as a concession of then-president Rodrigo Duterte to the Marcos family.
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