Malacañang has tagged the witching hour profanity-laced rant of Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as an “active threat” that the government will prevent.
Duterte, in an unscheduled remote press conference from inside the House of Representatives compound, said she was the subject of an assassination plot and that she ordered a member of her security team to kill the President and others should it succeed.
The longstanding quarrel between the nation’s top leaders took a dramatic turn after Duterte issued a “threat” to have Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated if the plot against her succeeded.
In the briefing over Zoom, a fuming Duterte made the threats along with a string of curses directed at the three.
Matter of nat’l security
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said he referred the matter to the Presidential Security Command (PSC), which is responsible for the security of the First Family.
The PSC immediately issued a statement: “Any threat to the life of the President and the First Family, regardless of its origin — and especially one made so brazenly in public — is treated with the utmost seriousness. We consider this a matter of national security and shall take all necessary measures to ensure the President’s safety.”
The PSC said it has strengthened its security protocols. It is also coordinating with law enforcement agencies to “detect, deter, and defend against any threats to the President and the First Family.”
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO), meanwhile, said in a statement that any threat to the life of the President must always be taken seriously, especially as it was publicly made in clear and certain terms.
Falling out began in July
Relations between Marcos and Duterte, the UniTeam tandem in the 2022 polls, soured after she resigned as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) in July.
Duterte said then that they were not really friends. Later, she said Marcos did not know how to be president, a statement she reiterated early Saturday morning.
In an interview in October, Marcos said he was dismayed to hear that the Vice President thought they were not friends.
“I don’t know anymore. I’m not quite sure I understand. I’m a little dismayed to hear that she doesn’t think that we are friends. I always thought that we were. But maybe I was deceived,” he said.
The rift deepened when the House Quad Committee recently began investigating Duterte over the alleged misuse of the confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of the Office of the Vice President and the DepEd.
Duterte said the Quadcomm’s investigation was politically motivated. She accused the First Lady and Speaker Romualdez of amplifying the controversy.
Romualdez has called on Duterte to appear before the congressional committee to explain her office’s fund use instead of sending her staff, one of whom was cited in contempt.
Aide under detention
Duterte called her pre-dawn press conference after House officials said they were transferring her chief of staff — who was under detention after being cited in contempt — from the House premises to a correctional facility.
The aide, Zuleika Lopez, was detained on Wednesday after being accused of “undue interference” in the House proceedings investigating Duterte’s expenditure of her CIF.
Duterte resigned as education secretary in June as relations between the Marcoses and Dutertes reached a breaking point.
Months earlier, her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, accused Marcos of being a “drug addict.”
Marcos the next day said his predecessor’s health was failing due to his long-term use of the powerful opioid fentanyl. Neither provided evidence of their allegations.
In October, Vice President Duterte said she felt “used” after teaming up with Marcos for the May 2022 elections, which they won in a landslide.
VP Duterte remains the constitutional successor to the 67-year-old President.
