Vice President Duterte decries House inquiry as 'political persecution'

Vice President Sara Z. Duterte on Wednesday expressed frustration over what she termed “political persecution” by members of the House of Representatives.

In a media interview, Duterte said she does not expect her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, to receive a fair hearing in the House Quad Committee’s ongoing inquiry into alleged human rights violations and extra-judicial killings (EJKs) during the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign.

“I do not expect fairness. Because this is clearly a political persecution. I’ve seen it many times,” she said, citing her personal experiences during the House deliberations on the Office of the Vice President’s proposed 2025 budget.

“We have noticed before, during the budget hearings, their questions are not even related to our proposed projects — they insisted on their storylines attacking the confidential funds,” she recalled.

Duterte lamented that the House lawmakers’ attacks have impacted many innocent individuals.

“We’ve seen that when they slashed the OVP budget and not only that, but also many people were affected and there were many people around us who were harassed — who were poor, and so on,” she said.

“But then again, for me, I'm a politician. It's okay with me. It's part of my job. What I don't like about this, is that ordinary employees, particularly the Office of the Vice President and our friends are being affected,” she added.

‘He’ll Be Okay’

Duterte expressed confidence in her father’s ability to defend himself against political attacks.

“Do I worry about the former president? I don't think he'll go there if he thinks he can't do it, or if he's weak health-wise. So, he'll be okay,” she said.

When asked why she believes her father won’t receive a fair hearing in the Lower Chamber, Duterte said:

“It's just like our experience in the House of Representatives. They use the rules according to their pleasure — the rules of the House of Representatives — you'll see that even if it's unconstitutional, the rules are still being used. Even without the rules, they're still making rules as they go along, as they do their hearings,” Duterte replied.