Vice President Sara Duterte is facing backlash over controversial remarks threatening the lives of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez. Lawmakers on Sunday called for a thorough investigation, with some suggesting her statements could be grounds for impeachment.
Duterte, in a virtual press conference early Saturday, claimed she had instructed someone to assassinate the officials if she were killed.
“I have already talked to someone. I told him that if I am killed, he should kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez. No joke. I already left instruction [and told him] don't stop until you have killed them, and then he said 'yes’,” Duterte told reporters in Filipino.
Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. condemned the remarks.
“The gravity of these statements cannot be overstated. A kill-order on the President is not only a heinous crime but also a betrayal of the highest order—one that shakes the very foundation of our democratic institutions,” he said.
Deputy Speaker David “Jayjay” Suarez underscored the legal implications of such threats, stating, “conspiring with an assassin to target the President is a serious crime,” adding that "no one, regardless of position, is above the law.”
House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability chairperson Joel Chua, meanwhile, implied that Duterte’s “disturbing” statements could be “definitely” used as a basis to impeach her apart from their initial recommendation of graft and betrayal and public trust.
But, despite the corruption allegations that erupted in the panel’s ongoing probe into the so-called irregularities in the disbursement of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd), which Duterte headed for nearly two years, he said there is still no impeachment complaint filed against the VP.
"If it's just grounds, there are really grounds in what we saw in the committee hearings. But whether it will push through, that's what I can't answer,” Chua said in an interview on Sunday.
Unlike the President, the immunity from lawsuits is not extended to the Vice President, leaving him or her open to criminal charges while in office.
Graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust are among the grounds Congress can cite to impeach a high-ranking official, alongside culpable violations of the Constitution, treason, bribery, and other high crimes.
“That’s why she is given the opportunity to address issues that cannot be explained, such as the P15 million funds used in the youth leadership summit,” Chua said, referring to certificates issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the DepEd, which the department allegedly used to justify the P15.54-million expense for informant rewards.
Meanwhile, Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe dismissed Duterte’s remarks as “drama” intended to divert attention from her alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds—P500 million for the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million for the Department of Education—allocated in 2022 and 2023.
“The Vice President’s [kill] claim [against her] is totally without basis. It’s just the product of her fertile imagination,” Dalipe said. “She’s diverting the issue. We are appealing to our people not to fall for these unreasonable outbursts intended to distract them from the real issue,” he added.
Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V echoed Dalipe’s sentiments.
“This kind of behavior is not befitting of a Vice President. Instead of spewing seemingly unintelligible threats, she should use that spunk to clarify the serious allegations surrounding her office,” Ortega stressed. ”This is her chance to show the Filipino people that she values accountability and governance.”
Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores, a lawyer by profession, noted that Duterte’s remarks could warrant “legal repercussions and criminal consequences,” comparing the gravity of her statements to bomb jokes that can land a person in jail.
As a matter of national security, the Department of Justice announced Sunday that it has launched an investigation into Duterte’s remarks and stated that “if the evidence warrants, this could lead to eventual prosecution.”