Marcos-Duterte alliance hits ‘point of no return’

VICE-PRESIDENT Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday said her broken ties with the camp of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. can no longer be fixed.

This comes as Mr. Marcos’ former ally was issued a subpoena by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following her kill remarks against him, his wife and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

“I believe that we have reached a point of no return,” she said in a news briefing, which was streamed live on her office’s Facebook page.

“It’s clear that they are really going after me.”

Ms. Duterte said Mr. Marcos’ camp really wanted her out of power, adding that her earlier complaints regarding threats to her life were “true.”

Tensions between the two, who both ran as a tandem in the 2022 elections, reached new highs after the Vice-President said she had hired assassins to kill the President, First Lady Marie Louise Araneta-Marcos, and Mr. Romualdez if she were murdered.

Ms. Duterte insisted that her order was not illegal since it was conditional.

“I’m a lawyer — I know what’s legal and illegal, what’s actionable and not actionable,” she said in Filipino. “Hindi actionable ang maghabilin ka.”

But Justice Undersecretary Jesse H. Andres has said there’s no such thing as a conditional threat. “A threat is a threat,” he said on Tuesday.

Ms. Duterte, the country’s second highest official, made the remark in a news briefing past midnight of Saturday, after the House Committee on Good Government ordered the transfer of her chief of staff, Zuleika T. Lopez, to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City from the lower chamber’s detention facility.

Congressional questions into her confidential funds at the Office of the Vice-President and the Department of Education began last year, seeing major political realignments in less than two years after the May 2022 elections.

Ms. Duterte confirmed that her office had received the subpoena issued by the National Bureau of Investigation regarding her kill remark but said she has sought for a postponement of her required appearance due to scheduling conflicts.

She said she will prioritize the hearings led by the House Committee on Good Government and Accountability.

The NBI issued the subpoena past noon on Tuesday, citing possible violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which was a priority legislation during the administration of Ms. Duterte’s father.

The Vice-President said it’s laughable that potential violations of the anti-terror law were mentioned in the subpoena, noting that the government was targeting her properties and assets.

Under the law, authorities have the power to seize, freeze, and sequester the assets and properties of individuals suspected of committing — or being an accomplice to — terrorism.

Also on Wednesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) filed complaints against Ms. Duterte and some members of her security group over a recent incident at the House of Representatives.

The QCPD filed complaints of direct assault, disobedience and grave coercion after the head of Ms. Duterte’s security group allegedly pushed and assaulted a PNP doctor assigned to assist Ms. Lopez, Ms. Duterte’s Undersecretary, police chief Rommel Francisco D. Marbil said in a statement, presented by PNP Spokesperson Jean S. Fajardo said in a briefing.

Ms. Lopez was being transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) to get medical attention. She was detained after she was cited in contempt due to her alleged evasive answers to questions during the House’s probe into the questionable confidential funds of Ms. Duterte.

During the briefing, Ms. Fajardo showed a now viral video that recorded the incident, noting that pushing the PNP doctor could be “qualified direct assault” as the security chief is a public officer.

The QCPD sent an ambulance and placed the doctor in charge of transferring Ms. Lopez to the VMMC after the House of Representatives requested PNP’s assistance.

Aside from direct assault, the PNP is studying other charges, including violations of Article 159 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes resistance and disobedience to persons in authority.

“This is a clear case of interference and disobedience to legal orders,” Ms. Fajardo added in mixed English and Filipino.

IMPEACHMENT RAPS
Meanwhile, a former Philippine senator on Wednesday said impeachment raps would be filed against the Vice-President, saying she’s “unfit” to hold the position for her fiery rumblings against the president and because of controversies hounding her secret fund use.

Ex-Senator Antonio “Sonny” F. Trillanes IV said that an impeachment complaint has long been drafted against Ms. Carpio and is just being updated before filing due to recent developments.

“It’s ripe [for filing],” Mr. Trillanes told reporters in mixed English and Filipino, pertaining to the filing of an impeachment suit. “I’m not saying that I’m the one who will file, I’m saying that someone will definitely file. So, let’s just wait and see.”

“It’s being updated because there is new information,” he added.

Grounds for impeachment include “culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust,” according to the 1987 Charter.

“Our fellow Filipinos can see all the dangers, the red flags, the unfitness of Ms. Carpio… to hold the position of Vice-President,” said Mr. Trillanes. “She could be president anytime, in cases of emergencies.”

“With the attitude she shows, every Filipino should be alarmed if she’s given the power of the presidency,” he added.

An impeachment complaint is first filed at the House, requiring at least one-third of all congressmen to vote in favor for the case to prosper. The chamber is headed by Mr. Romualdez, a cousin of the president.

The complaint would then be sent to the Senate for trial, where senators will determine whether the allegations against Ms. Carpio hold water. The Dutertes have a few allies at the chamber, including his ex-police chief and former chief presidential aide.

Asked whether Mr. Trillanes thinks an impeachment case would prosper at the Senate, he said: “It would depend on how the evidence would be presented… [and] how it convinces the public.”

“If the public opinion agrees that she needs to be convicted, the Senate, the supposed representatives of the people, should know that,” he added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Chloe Mari A. Hufana, and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio