November 24, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Stressing it is treating all threats to the safety and security of President Marcos seriously, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has launched an investigation on the remarks of Vice President Sara Duterte that she has contracted an assassin to kill the Chief Executive.
During an online news briefing yesterday after midnight, Duterte said she already asked someone to assassinate President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez, if she ends up dead.
Acting on Duterte’s latest threats against Marcos, PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said yesterday they will assist the Presidential Security Command (PSC), the unit tasked to protect the Chief Executive, in investigating the matter.
“The PSC should investigate that but we will help them,” Marbil said in a message on Viber.
Recognizing the grave nature of Duterte’s threat, Marbil directed the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to conduct a thorough and immediate investigation of her statement.
“The safety of the President is a national concern and any direct or indirect threat to his life must be addressed with the highest level of urgency,” the PNP said in a statement.
Duterte went ballistic after the House of Representatives ordered the transfer of her chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City from the House’s detention center.
Lopez was cited in contempt by the House committee on good government and public accountability for “undue interference” in the panel’s probe into the use of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when she was still the agency’s secretary.
Hundreds of police officers, some of whom were armed with long firearms, secured St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. Lopez was transferred from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) where she was initially brought due to dizziness and vomiting.
During her stay at the VMMC, several allies of Duterte visited her. Among them was Sen. Ronald dela Rosa who criticized the House for its order transferring Lopez to the CIW, a detention facility for women convicted of crimes.
He pointed out Lopez is not a convict but was only cited in contempt by the House.
“Bringing Lopez to a facility meant for criminals is very unjustified,” Dela Rosa told reporters in an interview.
Among the other visitors were Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta and former National Youth Commission chairman Ronald Cardema.
Lopez was brought back to the VMMC past 2 p.m., assisted by CIDG director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III who assisted in the implementation of the House’s order.
Duterte assisted Lopez, who was in a wheelchair, as she alighted from a vehicle at the entrance of the hospital.
Torre assured Lopez of her safety when she was about to be brought back to the VMMC.
Violation of Constitution
Duterte has violated the 1987 Constitution when she acted as legal counsel to Lopez, Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua said yesterday.
In a press conference, Chua, who chairs the House committee on good government and public accountability, cited Article VII Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “the President, Vice President, members of the Cabinet and their deputies or assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure.”
“They shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly practice any other profession,” Chua stressed, further citing that the provision is “absolute for the President, Vice President and the Cabinet members.”
Chua also revealed that after meeting on Friday, the members of the House committee on good government and public accountability “unanimously” voted to transfer Lopez from her detention from the House to the CIW.
In a press conference, he said that House Sergeant-At-Arms Napoleon Taas reported that Duterte “directly obstructed” Lopez’s transfer to the CIW.
Taas said Duterte, introducing herself as “pro bono” legal counsel of Lopez, intervened in the implementation of the transfer order.
“The Vice President’s intervention demonstrated a blatant disregard for institutional authority and due process setting a dangerous precedent for abuse of power,” Taas noted.
Chua said the Vice President’s action of locking herself up in the office of her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, caused significant distraction, including “excessive resource strain, the allocation of security personnel and compromised safety within the House premises.”
Taas enumerated the specific actions taken by the Vice President to block the House’s order, including “assuming the role of legal counsel for Atty. Zuleika Lopez to impede the committee’s directive; second, physically preventing our security personnel from executing the transfer order. Third, distracting House operations and disregarding established rules governing visits to detainees.”
“And last, compromising security protocol by bringing an excessive and unauthorized armed men present into the complex,” Chua added. “These alarming acts of the Vice President severely undermine the authority of the House and distracted its operations.”
Meanwhile, members of the House have been urged to declare Duterte “incapacitated” following the threats she made against President Marcos.
Presidential adviser on poverty alleviation Larry Gadon made the appeal, saying the House can remove Duterte from office through impeachment by declaring her incapacitated.
“Her threats to kill the President, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez are a clear manifestation of an unstable mind. So, therefore, she is mentally incapacitated,” Gadon said.
He explained there are two ways for Congress to oust Duterte: by declaring her incapacitated or through impeachment on the grounds of betrayal of public trust over her failure to explain her confidential funds.
“VP Sara may be removed from office for betrayal of public trust due to her refusal to explain the disbursement of hundreds of millions of confidential funds,” he said. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Michael Punongbayan
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