VICE President Sara Duterte stands in real danger of having her mug shots recorded in court dockets.
Last week, the Department of Justice announced that it filed with the Quezon City Regional Trial Court one count of grave threats against the VP under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Her camp said they have requested the court to allow oral arguments in support of their motion to quash the criminal Information, citing the “far-reaching consequences of the Grave Threats cases.”
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The VP’s lawyers cite the fact that their client is an impeachable officer.
“If a sitting Vice President may be indicted and prosecuted, then other incumbent impeachable officers such as the Ombudsman, members of the Constitutional Commissions, Supreme Court Justices, and even the President, may also be indicted and prosecuted,” her lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim said.
The DOJ retorts that criminal cases are different from the impeachment trial, and that nothing prevents it from filing cases against the vice president.
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There is no provision in the Constitution granting immunity to any elected or appointed government official in the context of a criminal case.
Not even a sitting President is constitutionally privileged from suit or arrest.
What the President enjoys is a long-held tradition, invented by kings of old, enshrined in jurisprudence, that he may not be disturbed, while steering government, by such mundane matters as attending to suits that can number as many as there are disgruntled citizens.
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This immunity from suit is granted solely to an incumbent president.
No other elected official has that immunity – not the Vice President, Supreme Court justices, the Ombudsman, and Constitutional commissioners.
That the VP is trying everything to address the criminal charge of grave threats against her, including a reported urgent request for a meeting with the President, underscores the gravity of her situation and.
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Assuming her motion to quash is not granted, VP Sara will have to post bail for her temporary liberty while the case against her is being tried. She may then continue to hold office as VP.
It will be an entirely different conversation once the Ombudsman charges her with plunder, where bail is discretionary on the part of the courts.
Meanwhile, she has remained mum on the reported unexplained wealth as purportedly reflected in her yet-to-be-disclosed bank accounts.
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As has been reported, the Senate impeachment court has issued subpoenas for the production of the bank and tax records of the VP and her husband. The records of the Anti-Money Laundering Council have also been subpoenaed.
As soon as these records are revealed, or otherwise accessed by the Ombudsman, and they indeed show wealth that is grossly disproportionate to her legal income, VP Sara stands the unwelcome chance of getting prosecuted for plunder or such other serious crimes that can cause her preventive suspension – another profound legal conundrum that will befuddle legal circles when the time comes./PN
