Marcos claps back at Sara

“The statements we have heard in recent days are disturbing. There is the insolent swearing and the threat of a plan to kill some of us.”

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. finally broke his silence on Monday, days after Vice President Sara Duterte “threatened” him and his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez with assassination should a supposed plot against her succeed.

In a video posted on Monday, Marcos condemned the profanity-laced rant of the Vice President against him, his wife and his cousin.

“If it is so easy to plan the assassination of a president, how much easier can it be (against) ordinary citizens?” he said in Filipino. “Such a criminal attempt should not be allowed to go unpunished. I will not let that go.”

On Saturday, 23 November, Vice President Sara Duterte gave a video conference where she lashed out at the First Couple and the House Speaker.

The relationship between Marcos and Duterte has been on the rocks for sometime since she resigned from the Cabinet in June. What was once a unity team has crumbled.

Marcos, Duterte said, does not know how to be president. Earlier, she threatened to behead him. In this latest “active threat,” she said she instructed someone she did not identify to assassinate the President, the First Lady and the Speaker if something were to happen to her.

On Monday, the President said that despite facing criticism, he has been focused on governing. This being a democratic country, the rule of law must prevail, he added.

“We will not compromise the rule of law. The law must prevail in any situation, no matter who is affected,” he stressed.

He called on Duterte to answer the issues hounding her in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate.

Looking for a snack

“This discussion would have been over if only we, as public servants, fulfill our sworn oath to tell the truth, and not make any obstructions,” he said.

“Instead of a direct answer, they are diverting this into a ‘snack’ narrative. I hope that these events will end in a peaceful way that will lead us to the truth,” he added.

Marcos’ reference to a “snack” was in connection with the supposed signatory to acknowledgement receipts submitted to the Commission on Audit by the OVP — one Mary Grace Piattos.

Since no one by that name has been found or has come forward, it is believed the name was derived from a popular cafe, Mary Grace, and a potato chips brand, Piattos.

House and Senate committees are investigating the alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, the latter which Duterte headed for two years.

Marcos said that both chambers of Congress were only doing their duty that is vested in them by the people they represent. He urged Duterte to respect the process of Congress.

“I will not let anyone drag the whole country into the mire of politics,” he said. “Let us respect the process. Let us obey the law. Let us remember the mandate entrusted to us by millions of Filipinos,” he said.

The Presidential Security Command (PSC) on Monday said it has implemented stricter security measures around the First Family following Duterte’s threat.

In a phone interview, Maj. Nestor Endozo, civil military operations officer of the PSC, said they have implemented the enhanced protocols since Saturday.

Tighter security measures have been observed on the Malacañang grounds with each vehicle entering subjected to strict visual inspection by the PSC.

Security around the President has been doubled.

“You will see (the additional security) during the President’s coming engagements because our instructions were to double the President’s security,” Endozo told Palace reporters.

He said revisions to the current security of the President have yet to be discussed but coordination and deployment strategies have been changed.

So far, movements of the Chief Executive in and out of the Palace have not been limited by the PSC and Marcos’ schedule has remained unchanged.

“There are no instructions for us yet because the schedule will come from the PCO and PMS. But our job is still the same, tightening (the President’s) security, but with regard to the schedule no advice has been given to us yet,” Endozo said.

DoJ gets involved

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DoJ) is looking into summoning Vice President Duterte to its investigation into threats she made against the President and the First Lady.

In a briefing at the Palace, Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres said a subpoena will be served on Duterte as soon as possible.

“The investigation the government will conduct is urgent. It is important to know what steps were taken to hire the services of an assassin who is plotting against the life of the President,” he said.

“And the National Bureau of Investigation will take all steps to trace his identity, including issuing a subpoena to Vice President Sara to appear before the NBI to clarify her statements,” he added.

Earlier, the NBI verified the authenticity of the video on which Duterte made the threat since it came from a Facebook livestream.

“My investigators found out that the clip is not AI-generated, it is not deepfake, it is authentic,” NBI Director Jaime Santiago said.

The NBI asked Facebook not to take down the video clip of the threat as it will be included in the investigation.

“We requested the preservation of the clip. So Facebook is keeping the video clip for future reference. Our request has been granted and it has been saved,” Santiago said.

The NBI said it is also working closely with the DoJ and the National Prosecution Service should a case be filed against the Vice President.

“The immediate threat right now is to track down the assassin or assassins because this is not something that you can simply dismiss coming from a sitting Vice President who is within earshot of the presidency,” Prosecutor General Anthony Fadullon said.

Previously, Duterte made a remark about beheading Marcos, which the DoJ took to show the level of the anger the former had for the latter.

Liabilities of VP, assassin

Duterte may face legal cases with her statements, according to the DoJ.

“We do not close the door on major cases, but following due process, we must first conduct a complete investigation,” Andres said. “We have to look at every possible angle, hear testimonies, collate previous testimonies, and do a forensic study that will fortify all possible cases.”

Andres said the Vice President is not immune to a lawsuit and can be investigated, including by the Ombudsman.

“She can be the subject of a criminal, administrative case and the Ombudsman has the authority to enforce discipline and take the necessary measures to deliver on its mandate as the investigator of all high-ranking government officials,” he said.

Duterte could also be charged with sedition for her remarks.

For the alleged assassin, he or she may face the same case. And if proven, the alleged assassin may face conspiracy to commit murder charges and other criminal offenses.

“There will be criminal and other legal liabilities that will be enforced against the plotters and those who will execute it and those who took part in it. We will complete the investigation and, definitely, we will file the appropriate cases. But we will not identify the particular offense at this point in time,” he said.

If Sara rejects subpoena

Should Duterte ignore the subpoena issued against her, the Justice department said it will take whatever it has from the investigation in order to build a case as it has no power to cite the Vice President in contempt or obstruction.

“Whatever evidence is in the possession of or will be in the possession of the NBI based on its investigation outside of any statement or any cooperation coming from them is something that we can readily work on,” Fadullon said.

For his part, Santiago said the NBI’s investigation will focus on the statements made by Duterte.

“It’s a revelation. She spoke to an assassin and instructed him to do this against the President. So we will focus there,” he said.