Metro Manila, Philippines – The counsel of Vice President Sara Duterte argued that her statement claiming that she contracted someone to kill the presidential family if she herself were killed were not threats but merely responses to a question during an online press conference.
Senator-judge Pia Cayetano on Tuesday, July 14, the fifth day of the impeachment trial, questioned the two opposing counsels on the nature of a threat. She wanted to know if the victim of a threat needs to feel threatened or is it enough that the public consider a statement threatening to determine that a statement is a grave threat.
Amando Virgil Ligunan, counsel for the prosecutor, cited two Supreme Court rulings: Paera vs. People who ruled that a private complainant is not needed for a grave threats charge, and Garma vs. People, which affirmed that the recipient of a threat does not need to feel threatened by the statement in question.
Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan answered Cayetano’s question by stating his panel’s position. He said Duterte’s statements were not a threat but an answer to a question. During a Zoom press conference on Nov. 23, 2024, an attendee raised concerns about Duterte’s safety. The vice president told her not to worry for her as she hired someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, should she herself be killed.
Vinluan added that these statements were made in a Zoom recording and not directed at the three officials even though she directly named them. He argued that if they had not seen the video, they would not have known about it.
In a statement before the trial proper on Tuesday, Duterte said the evidence in the impeachment case was fabricated and not supported by evidence.
READ: Evidence in impeachment case fabricated – Sara Duterte
