DOJ studying legal action on VP rant 

OUTBURST An angry Vice President Sara Duterte faced reporters last week to address issues revolving around her broken alliance with President Marcos. —Lyn Rillon

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering the potential “legal consequences” of what it called the “disturbing” remarks of Vice President Sara Duterte last week, particularly her threat to exhume the body of President Ferdinand  Marcos Jr.’s father and namesake and dump it in the West Philippine Sea.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that a particular remark by Duterte violated “moral principles” and therefore warrants a study to explore their legal aspects.

“There are many approaches to that, but it desecrates the memory of a person, it desecrates the peaceful state that he must be in, having already passed away, and it disturb[s] the body,” Remulla told reporters on Monday.

READ: VP Sara Duterte’s outburst shows flaw in her character – Acop

He said it was “very disturbing if a person can think that way, especially when she holds a very high position.”

“It’s a moral hazard to all of us to be listening to such remarks coming from someone in such a high position in government,” he added.

Qualifying as libel?

In an interview with dzRH over the weekend, Remulla said the Vice President may have violated the Revised Penal Code.

While he did not specify the exact provision, Article 353 of that law, which defines the crime of libel, includes references to disrespect toward the dead.

The law defines libel as the “public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.”

The Vice President held a press conference on Oct. 18 that became an extended rant directed primarily at her now estranged ally, Marcos, and his family.

“I told Senator Imee (Marcos), if you don’t stop, I will dig the grave of your father and I will throw him into the [West Philippine Sea]. One of these days, I will go there and get his body,” a visibly annoyed Duterte said.

‘Worried for her’

A former ally of the Dutertes, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, said, “When I heard what she said, I was surprised that I thought it was AI (artificial intelligence). I even had to double-check the video.”

“It turns out it was real,” Pimentel said in a press conference on Monday. “So it’s really unusual. To me, it’s strange that she thought about that in the first place and later verbalized it.”

“I actually got worried for her,” Pimentel said, later adding that “it’s difficult if you don’t share [your thoughts]. I hope she has close friends and family members who will advise her so that she will have sessions wherein she will be able to pour out her emotions.”

Senate President Francis Escudero had weighed in earlier on Duterte’s remarks, saying that they were “unbecoming, especially from the country’s second-highest leader.”

Past remarks

The Vice President’s “sit-down” with reporters which ran two hours—according to the total running time of video recordings of that press conference now posted on social media—was also reminiscent of the extemporaneous diatribes of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose past remarks are now being revisited amid the congressional inquiry into his drug war.

It was the older Duterte who had allowed the remains of the President’s father to be buried at the heroes’ cemetery on Nov. 18, 2016. The Marcos family had long sought a hero’s burial for their patriarch despite protests by survivors of his 14-year dictatorial rule.

The Duterte family severed its ties with the Marcoses only after two years of their alliance beginning with the presidential race in the 2022 general elections, when Sara Duterte gave way to the presidential bid of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and became his running mate.

Following her worsening ties with leaders of the House of Representatives and the emerging threat of an international case against her father’s drug war, Duterte resigned as education secretary on June 19 this year and has since stepped up her criticism against the President. —with a report from Marlon Ramos