Metro Manila, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte this time hit the justice secretary for raising a possible legal suit for her remarks about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the remains of his father and former president.
A feisty Duterte bashed the Marcoses in a lengthy press conference on Oct. 18 out of a strained political relationship that was once the Uniteam alliance.
“Ipagdasal natin ang Pilipinas dahil we have a secretary of justice na hindi alam ang batas,” Duterte told reporters on the sidelines of the 50th Philippine Business Conference and Expo in Pasay City on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
[Translation: Let’s pray for the Philippines because we have a secretary of justice who does not know the law.]
WATCH: Vice President Sara Duterte says Justice Secretary Boying Remulla does not know the law for citing "legal consequences" against Duterte's remarks on exhuming the remains of President Ferdinand E. Marcos and disposing it in the West Philippine Sea | @JeloMantaring pic.twitter.com/9JYLKDkmuJ
— NewsWatch Plus PH (@newswatchplusph) October 22, 2024
“Talking about a desecration of the body is not the desecration of the dead,” she said. “Sana siguro as a lawyer maintindihan niya ‘yon agad [I hope as a lawyer he understands that quickly].”
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is studying possible “legal consequences” of Duterte’s “disturbing” remarks.
On Oct. 18, Duterte said she previously warned Sen. Imee Marcos that she would exhume the remains of Ferdinand E. Marcos and throw them to the West Philippine Sea if political attacks from the administration continued.
The vice president’s father and former President Rodrigo Duterte approved the transfer of the Marcos patriarch to the Libingan ng mga Bayani from his home province of Ilocos Norte despite a public uproar against a dictatorship that saw thousands of human rights abuses.
The vice president said she also had thoughts of “cutting” the sitting president’s head, an indication that their relationship has turned toxic.
RELATED: Marcos doesn’t know how to be president — Duterte
Malacañang did not issue a comment after Duterte’s tell-all.
Presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos and nephew Ilocos Norte Gov. Matthew Marcos Manotoc commented on the issue.
READ: Marcos’ kin speak up about VP Duterte ‘temper tantrum’
