Bongbong Marcos confirms asking lawmakers not to file an impeachment complaint vs. Sara Duterte
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. confirmed that he asked lawmakers not to pursue an impeachment case vs. Vice President Sara Duterte amid the latter's attacks and threats against him.
“That’s really my opinion, this is not important. This [will] not make any difference to even one single Filipino life, so why waste time?” Marcos told the press on Friday, Nov. 29.
“What will happen if someone files an impeachment? It will tie down the House [of Representatives], it will tie down the Senate, it will just take up time and for what? For nothing,” he added.
“None of this will help improve a single Filipino life," he stressed. “As far as I’m concerned, it is a storm in a teacup.”
When asked if he, like Duterte, has reached the “point of no return” in their rift, he simply said, “Never say never.”
Duterte's attacks vs. Marcos
Duterte had an expletive-laden rant against Marcos and his kin during a midnight Zoom press conference on Nov. 23 amid a House of Representatives panel's months-long probe into her offices, the Office of the Vice President and formerly the Department of Education, for alleged misuse of funds. She's also being questioned over the OVP and DepEd's confidential funds worth P775 million.
The VP, dropping "P.I." here and there, accused First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos of funneling cash-filled envelopes through the DepEd. She also implied that Romualdez, during a plane ride, told her that the Marcoses were pilfering campaign funds.
What takes the cake is her unequivocal account of contracting a hitman to assassinate Marcos, his wife, and Romualdez if she were killed.
"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 said in response to a commenter wishing for her safety. "Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. 'Pag namatay ako, 'wag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapapatay sila.' And then he said yes."
The following day, Malacañang said they are "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," they stated.
They stressed that "any threat to the life of the President must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms."
Duterte, however, said in a statement on Tuesday, Nov. 26 that the “insistence” of the current administration that Marcos' life is "under active threat" is "ominous," calling the narrative "farce" and "imagined."
"There is absolutely no flesh on the bone, and despite the absence of a reliable investigation, authorities were quick to consider this a national security concern,” she noted.
According to her, common sense “should be enough for us to understand and accept that a supposed conditional act of revenge does not constitute to an active threat.”
Later in the day, the National Bureau of Investigation served a subpoena to Duterte, compelling her to shed light on the investigation into threats she made against the President. It was received by her office staff in Mandaluyong.
Duterte is also facing several complaints from the Philippine National Police (PNP), including direct assault, disobedience, and grave coercion, following a confrontation with the police last weekend.
