Bongbong Marcos fires back at Sara Duterte's threats: 'Yan ay aking papalagan'
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. fired back at Vice President Sara Duterte following the latter’s assassination threats against him.
On his Facebook Live on Monday, Nov. 25, Marcos Jr. addressed the death threats issued by the incumbent vice president, stressing that such a serious threat is not something to let pass.
“Nakakabahala ang mga pahayag na narinig natin nitong mga nakaraang araw. Nandiyan ang walang pakundangang pagmumura at ang pagbabanta ng planong ipapatay ang ilan sa atin,” he began in his statement.
“Kung ganun na lang kadali ang pagplano sa pagpatay ng isang Presidente, papaano pa kaya ang mga pangkaraniwan na mamamayan? ‘Yang ganyang krimimal na pagtatangka ay hindi dapat pinapalampas. ‘Yan ay aking papalagan,” he added.
The president stressed that as a democratic country, we need to uphold the rule of law. All those with a seat in the government must fulfill their duties of following and protecting the Constitution, even if it means investigating those holding the highest position.
“Kaya hindi tama ang pagpigil sa mga halal ng bayan sa paghahanap ng katotohanan,” he continued, referring to Duterte’s controversial hearings both in the Senate and House of Representatives.
“Hindi na sana hahantong sa ganitong drama kung sasagutin lamang ang mga lehitimong katanungan sa senado at sa House of Representatives. Ang katotohanan ay ‘di dapat i-tokhang; Tapos na sana ang usapan na ‘to kung tutuparin lamang ang sinumpahang panata na bilang lingkod bayan, ay magsabi ng totoo at hindi hahadlangan. Imbes na diretsahang sagot, nililihis pa sa kwentong tsitsirya,” Marcos added.
He continued that despite the threats, he is focused on addressing the country’s topmost problems and challenges.
Marcos said: “Ngunit, hindi natin iko-kompromiso ang Rule of Law, kailangan manaig ang batas sa anumang sitwasyon, sino man ang tamaan. Kaya hindi ko hahayaan na magtagumpay ang hangarin ng iba na hatakin ang buong bansa sa burak ng politika. Igalang natin ang proseso, tuparin natin ang batas, alalahanin natin ang mandato na ipinakatiwala sa atin ng milyun-milyon na Pilipino.”
“Hangad ko na matuldukan na itong mga pangyayaring ito sa paraang matiwasay at magdadala sa atin sa katotohanan,” the President continued.
This came after Duterte made the threat against Marcos during a midnight Zoom press conference on Nov. 23.
It was also after a months-long probe into the actions of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) that eventually reached a point where her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, was cited in contempt by the House of Representatives and was detained.
“’Wag kang mag-alala sa security ko kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, 'Pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,'" Duterte revealed.
"Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. 'Pag namatay ako, 'wag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapapatay sila.' And then he said yes," she added.
Following this, Malacañang considered this as an “active threat” against the president.
In a statement published on its website, the Presidential Communications Office said that it is "acting on the Vice President’s clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the President if an alleged plot against her succeeds."
"The Executive Secretary [Cesar Chavez] has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action," it stated.
