Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 13) — ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro expressed disappointment over the dismissal of her grave threats complaint against former President Rodrigo Duterte, but hinted the fight may not yet be over as she plans to discuss her next move with her lawyers.

“Hindi pa namin opisyal na natatanggap ang desisyon ng piskal. Kailangan pa naming mapag-aralan ang desisyon at makipagkonsultahan sa aking mga abugado para sa mga susunod naming mga hakbang,” Castro said in a statement on Saturday.

[Translation: We have yet to officially receive the prosecutor’s decision. We still need to study the decision and consult with my lawyers for our next steps.]

Castro added that the dismissal of her complaint invalidated the fear she and her family received from Duterte’s threats.

Lawyer Sal Panelo, who previously served as Duterte’s presidential spokesperson and chief legal counsel, said the dismissal of the complaint was “expected.”

“No threat against the life of the complainant was ever made. An expression of a desire is not a crime,” Panelo said.

“Moreover, the complained utterance was made in relation to a subject matter unrelated to a fictitious fear,” he added.

Panelo also claimed Castro filed the case “for purely political propaganda purposes.”

The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office ruled that the way Duterte said the threats on his show did not convincingly establish that he intended them to be taken seriously.

In an interview on Sonshine Media Network International, the former president red-tagged the lawmaker and the rest of the Makabayan bloc, and said the first target of his daughter’s proposed secret funds should be Castro.

CNN Philippines’ Celine Serquiña contributed to this story.