Administration lawmakers on Sunday pressed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate 79-year-old former President Rodrigo Duterte’s expressed wish to kill 15 senators.
As the NBI filed grave threat and inciting to sedition charges against Vice President Sara Duterte, several lawmakers also wanted the bureau to go after her father over his “reckless” statement to blow up 15 senators.
The elder Duterte on Thursday endorsed nine senatorial candidates during the kickoff rally of PDP Laban in San Juan City, saying bombing 15 senators to smithereens would create room for his bets.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong lambasted the former President, who drew a parallel with his daughter’s own threat to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated.
The Vice President had claimed months ago in an early morning rant that her order would be enforced by a hitman if she’s killed by forces allied with her political enemies, the Marcoses and Romualdez.
“We have seen before how rhetoric like this can embolden individuals to take matters into their own hands, often with tragic consequences. When public figures normalize threats of violence, they create a dangerous environment where words can translate into real harm,” Adiong said.
While the tough-talking former President often brushed his threats aside as jokes, Adiong said tensions are too high during an election season for such cavalier remarks.
“He (Duterte) cannot hide the threat to senators behind a joke,” Adiong said. “In a democracy, words have power — especially when they come from someone who has held the highest office in the land.”
“If telling a bomb joke is against the law and has a corresponding punishment, what more if you threaten to kill 15 senators?” he added.
Half of the 24 Senate seats are up for grabs in this year’s midterm elections. The Senate will convene as an impeachment court either before the end of the present 19th Congress or the start of the incoming 20th Congress to try Vice President Duterte.
Impeached
The House of Representatives impeached Duterte with 215 votes — well over the required number — on culpable violations of the Constitution over her kill threat and the alleged misuse of the so-called confidential and intelligence funds.
The elder Duterte’s nine senatorial bets include reelectionists Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Christopher “Bong” Go, Sagip Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, and accused sex offender and former spiritual adviser Apollo Quiboloy.
Zamboanga Rep. Jefferson Khonghun echoed Adiong’s call for the NBI to also press charges against the former President if warranted by the evidence its probe would uncover.
“The case against the Vice President sends the message that under this government, no one is above the law. Maybe former President Duterte should also be charged for the threats he is making, just as the NBI filed a complaint against VP Sara Duterte,” he pointed out.
The Vice President’s camp has maintained that her impeachment, as well as the many congressional probes she was subjected to, is part of a campaign to discredit her as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
After being elected Vice President via landslide in tandem with President Marcos in 2022, the younger Duterte is seen as a strong contender in the 2028 presidential race against, among other aspirants, Speaker Romualdez.
If the Vice President is found guilty by the Senate and barred from public office, her father said he would consider running for President again in 2028, drawing a parallel with US President Donald Trump’s return to office this year.
War on drugs
Along with Adiong and Khonghun, Taguig Rep. Amparo Maria “Pammy” Zamora underscored the urgent need to stop past or present country leaders from “making murder sound like a policy option.”
Zamora cited the notorious war on drugs by then-President Duterte, which saw more than 7,000 people killed, based on government data. A complaint filed with the International Criminal Court claimed the death toll from Duterte’s drug war could be as high as 20,000.
“This is beyond reckless. A former President joking about murder is unacceptable. The words of a leader carry weight. When they threaten violence, it emboldens law enforcers to take shortcuts, silences critics and fosters a culture of fear instead of democratic discourse,” she stated.
Zamora added, “The violence we saw during the Duterte administration is not something to joke about. It has real consequences, and our country continues to deal with the aftermath.”
Meanwhile, La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega labeled Duterte’s remark as a blatant attempt to sow discord, given the purported extremely low chances of his allies winning Senate seats.
“They can see their defeat in the May 12 election. So the former President is resorting to threats and negative campaigning,” Ortega lamented.
As of February, at least 10 of the 12 members of Marcos-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas, led by ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo, have continued to dominate the surveys for preferred senators in the midterm elections.
