Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday defended her controversial remarks about allegedly plotting the assassination of President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, insisting that they were “maliciously taken out of logical context.”
The VP made this point in an open letter to the National Security Council (NSC) after it stated that it considers “all threats to President Marcos as serious and a matter of national security.”
“I would like to see a copy of the notice of meeting with proof of service, the list of attendees, photos of the meeting, and the notarized minutes of meeting where the Council, whether present or past, resolved to consider the remarks by a Vice President against a President, maliciously taken out of logical context, as a national security concern,” Duterte wrote.
“In addition, please include in the agenda for the next meeting, my request to present to the Council the threats to the Vice President, the OVP institution and its personnel,” she added.
Duterte further noted that she has not received any “single notice of meeting” since 2022, calling for a review of the NSC’s accomplishments, policies, and national security recommendations.
Questioning the structure of the council, Duterte asked why the Vice President is excluded from NSC membership.
“Please submit within 24 hours, an explanation in writing with legal basis why the VP is not a member of the NSC or why as member I have not been invited to the meetings, whichever is applicable,” the VP demanded, challenging transparency and accountability against NSC and its personnel.
However, lawmakers from both houses of Congress are taking seriously Duterte’s threat to kill leaders of the Executive and Legislative branches of government.
Senate President Chiz Escudero called the statements “deeply concerning and inappropriate” for a national official occupying “the second highest office of the land.”
“She should keep in mind that as a public official, she has a duty to set an example for the personnel in the Office of the Vice President and our fellow Filipinos, especially our children,” Escudero declared in a statement.
At the Lower Chamber, House Deputy Majority Leader Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre echoed the same sentiments declaring the behavior of the VP “toxic.”
“As Vice President, she should refrain from acting like she is not in her right mind. Her toxic behavior is concerning and may reflect an alarming state of mind. This does not suit her, especially given the dignity of her office,” Acidre said in mixture of Filipino and English.
As this developed, Duterte showed up at the House of Representatives on Monday and immediately questioned lawmakers investigating the alleged fund misuse in the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education.
The Vice President had dodged earlier hearings despite repeated invitations from the investigating panel.
However, the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s hearing proceeded far from smoothly as Duterte had to be reminded repeatedly to refrain from disrespecting panel members.
She also asked the panel members to explain why they doubled the detention period of her chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez, who was previously cited in contempt over “undue interference” in the panel proceedings.
Initially ordered detained for five days following the November 20 hearing, Lopez will now remain in detention until November 30.
It can be recalled that Duterte made the assassination remark against the First Couple and House Speaker soon after lawmakers ordered Lopez transferred to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City.
House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, who filed the motion to prolong Lopez’s detention, described her actions as a clear attempt to obstruct the investigation.
“Considering the totality of her acts of undue interference to the proceedings of this committee and the Congress as a whole, I move that the period of detention of Atty. Zuleika Lopez be 10 days instead of five days,” Castro said.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, the committee chair, approved the motion after it was seconded and faced no objections.
Later during the hearing, special disbursing officers (SDOs) of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) revealed that they disbursed multi-million-peso confidential funds to designated security officers, strictly following Duterte’s instructions.
Gina Acosta, the OVP’s SDO, admitted to releasing P125 million in confidential funds to Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, commander of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group, on December 20, 2022—the same day she encashed the full amount at the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) Shaw Boulevard branch in Mandaluyong City.
Edward Fajarda, the DepEd SDO under Duterte’s tenure as secretary, also disclosed during questioning by Antipolo City 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop that he turned over P37.5 million in confidential funds for the first quarter of 2023 to Col. Dennis Nolasco, DepEd’s designated security officer.
Both SDOs said that their actions were carried out under the explicit orders of the Vice President.
“The head of the agency [VP Duterte] was the one instructed to release [funds] to our security officer),” Acosta told Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro in Filipino.
The extended grilling from lawmakers apparently took its toll on Acosta causing her to require emergency medical attention Monday evening.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Assassination remarks ‘taken out of context,’ VP Sara Duterte says.”
