The Office of the Ombudsman has stated that it cannot suspend or investigate Vice President Sara Duterte over her kill threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. because the threat was “personal in nature” and not related to her official duties.

In an interview with the Daily Tribune, Ombudsman Samuel Martires explained that while his office has the authority to exercise such actions, there are currently no grounds to acquire jurisdiction over the case or initiate a motu proprio inquiry into Duterte’s alleged threat.

“Considering that these cases are personal in nature, it should be the Department of Justice (DoJ), not us,” Martires said. “We have the authority to suspend or investigate any government official or employee, but in this particular instance, we do not find it connected to her office.”

Duterte publicly declared last week that she had ordered someone to assassinate the President, First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez, should a supposed plot against her succeed, amid what she called continuing political attacks by administration allies.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) suggested that Duterte could face charges for violating Republic Act 11479, the Anti-Terrorism Law, as well as for libel, defamation, and grave threats.

Earlier, Justice Undersecretary Jese Andres stated that only the Ombudsman has the authority to suspend the Vice President, not President Marcos himself. In addition to suspension, Andres noted that Duterte could face disqualification from public office if found guilty of violating the Anti-Terrorism Law.

Martires countered that, while he can take over any case at any stage, he has yet to find a reason to investigate Duterte.

He clarified that the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction covers offenses committed in relation to an official’s duties, but not all offenses by high-ranking government officials fall under its purview.

“Not all offenses committed by high-ranking government officials will be under the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman,” Martires said, especially if the offense is not connected to their official duties.

Martires also pointed to a Supreme Court ruling involving former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, which held that an impeachable officer cannot be charged with a criminal, civil, or administrative offense that carries the penalty of removal from office during their term.

“The Supreme Court said, impeach them first before you sue them. So, it’s still impossible now to suspend the Vice President in light of this decision,” he explained, although Andres argued that this case does not apply to Duterte.

Martires said that he could only take action against Duterte if the Commission on Audit (CoA) filed a case against her for graft related to the alleged misuse of the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds.

Duterte appointee

“For now, it’s still a long way because it was merely a notice of disallowance. The notice is not final and is still appealable to the regional director and to the en banc of CoA,” he noted.

Martires, who was appointed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court in 2017 by the Vice President’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and later became Ombudsman in 2018, denied that his stance on the Vice President’s case is influenced by his prior connections.

Duterte has been at the center of a congressional investigation into the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (P500 million) and the Department of Education (P112.5 million) in 2022 and 2023, during her time as Education secretary.

State auditors flagged a significant portion of the secret funds and disallowed P73.287 million of the P125 million spent by the OVP in just 11 days during the last quarter of 2022, Duterte’s first year in office.

Unlike the President, the Vice President is not immune from lawsuits, leaving the office holder open to criminal charges while in office.

However, veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal argued that the Vice President should also be eligible for such immunity, given that both the President and Vice President are impeachable officials.