MANILA — Malacañang on Wednesday distanced President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. from the grave threats case filed against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, insisting the Chief Executive neither interfered in nor had any reason to influence the legal action stemming from her alleged threat against him and two other officials.
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro rejected any suggestion that Marcos had a hand in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to bring the case to court, saying the President was not focused on Duterte-Carpio.
“Hindi siya [President Marcos] nakatutok kay Bise Presidente. Hindi siya nakatutok sa taong wala namang ginagawa at hindi nakakatulong sa kaniya. So, kung kinakaso siya [VP Sara Duterte], huwag nating isisi sa Pangulo kasi ginawa niya ‘yan,” Castro said in an interview with DZBB.
The DOJ confirmed Tuesday that it had filed the grave threats complaint against Duterte-Carpio before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
The case arose from Duterte-Carpio’s remarks during an online press conference on Nov. 23, 2024, when she said she had instructed an unnamed person to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed.
Duterte-Carpio later maintained that her remarks had been taken out of context.
Her camp also said the DOJ had dismissed the incitement to sedition complaint earlier filed against her by the National Bureau of Investigation.
Duterte-Carpio’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said the vice president remained confident that the grave threats charge would eventually be dismissed.
Lim also argued that Duterte-Carpio could not be prosecuted for an alleged offense that is already the subject of an impeachment case.
“Given these serious legal issues, the Vice President will exercise all available legal remedies in due course,” Lim said.
The filing of the grave threats case adds another legal battle for Duterte-Carpio as she continues to face an impeachment trial before the Senate./PN
