"The question being asked to her, was this the price that she paid when she threatened the President and his family.”

That was the sentiment that House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon had regarding the recent claims of Vice President Sara Duterte that gun violence was a prevalent issue in the country in relation to the alleged millions of victims of extra-judicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.

Ridon questioned the statements of Sara, noting that she was being investigated during an impeachment trial at the Senate for the very same matters that she publicly discussed–the ease of hiring a hitman in the country.

“With respect, I think the Vice President has a violent mind, she’s being prosecuted today on threats, the last thing I think any person being investigated on threats to do would be to talk about threats,” he said.

The statements of the Vice President came during her visit to The Hague, Netherlands where her father was detained under the International Criminal Court (ICC) over complaints stemming from the anti-drug campaign.

Sara asserted during a rally at the front of the ICC on Wednesday, 29 July, that she could hire an assassin to kill the mistress of his wife for just P5,000 in the Philippines.

“I have a husband. My husband has a mistress. I can hire a gunman for P5,000 to kill the mistress…that is how bad gun violence in the Philippines is,” she said.

“And that is, again, yes, EJK. So how can you say that all your listed victims, all your listed complainants are supposed victims of the drug war?” she added.

For Ridon, such pronouncements could not disprove the fact that there were millions of Filipinos that died during the violent anti-drug campaign, noting that all information contained in the former president’s case were well-documented.

The solon further underscored that the killings were not merely brought about by a simple marital conflict, stating that it was systemic given that most of the victims allegedly attempted to evade arrest and fought against authorities.

“The people that died there supposedly fought against law enforcement that were implementing Duterte’s drug war. The reason for his imprisonment is not as shallow.” the solon noted.

“We won’t allow the Vice President to lessen the gravity of the deaths of a lot of Filipinos from the Duterte drug war,” he stressed.

Why not report it to authorities?

Commenting on the same topic, House trial spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong questioned Sara’s motivation and intent of communicating the information that she knew about hitman’s to the public.

Adiong expressed that had the Vice President really wanted to resolve the supposed prevalent issue of gun violence in the country, she should have relayed the details to local authorities that are investigating such incidents.

“If her intention was to really resolve this type of occurrence in the streets, as a Vice President she does not really need to be an ally of any administration for that matter. Her office being a public office demands that she at least shares this information,” he said.

Last 22 July, the House prosecution panel concluded its presentation of evidence concerning Article IV against Sara, concerning her alleged grave threats against the President, first lady, and former House Speaker.

Throughout the proceedings, officials from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) stated that the identity of the supposed hitman that the Vice President contracted to carry out her threats was still actively being investigated.