Año: Threat to Marcos matter of national security

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año —Inquirer file photo/Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the National Security Council on Sunday said his office will verify the alleged assassination threat by Vice President Sara Duterte on President Marcos and his wife and on Speaker Martin Romualdez, describing it as a “matter of national security.”

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the government considers all threats to the President as “serious,” vowing to closely work with law enforcement and intelligence communities to investigate the threat and possible perpetrators.

READ: VP Sara publicly threatens to have the president assassinated

“Any and all threats against the life of the President shall be validated and considered a matter of national security,” Año said in a statement.

Año did not name the Vice President in his statement, but on Saturday morning, an enraged Duterte outlined in an online news conference her plan to order a hit on the first couple and Romualdez in the event of her death.

“Don’t worry, ma’am, about my security because I’ve spoken to a person. I told him that if I am killed, you kill BBM, (first lady) Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. No joke… if I am killed, don’t stop until you kill them. And then he said yes,” Duterte said.

In response to Duterte’s threat, Presidential Security Command chief Maj. Gen. Jesus Nelson Morales said they have adjusted their security protocols to ensure the safety of the President and his family.

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Marbil also earlier ordered an investigation into the matter.

“The safety of the President is a national concern, and any direct or indirect threat to his life must be addressed with the highest level of urgency,” he said.

Duterte and Marcos were once political partners who won an overwhelming mandate in 2022.

The alliance crumbled this year over policy differences, including foreign policy and former President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs.

Marcos’ congressional allies are separately investigating the elder Duterte’s war against drugs that led to more than 6,000 deaths in antidrug operations and alleged corruption over the younger Duterte’s use of public funds during her tenure as education secretary. Both have denied wrongdoing.

Duterte quit her post as education secretary in June.

Criminal liability

Duterte could face criminal charges, including libel and attempted murder, or even disbarment over her assassination threats against President Marcos, according to a legal expert.

If criminal lawyers or seasoned prosecutors were to review the Vice President’s statements, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Domingo Cayosa said they “might consider it attempted murder because… she said that a person already agreed [to her orders], so the deal was closed, and they were just waiting for something to happen.”

“It’s a qualifying element—if you plan it, it’s not spontaneous. If you just had a fight and ended up killing someone, that’s homicide. But if you planned it, that’s murder if it happens,” Cayosa said in an interview with dzBB on Sunday.

Libel, impeachment

Cayosa added that libel charges could be filed, given Duterte’s use of expletives and her accusations against the first lady, particularly of allegedly ordering the bribery of education officials with millions of pesos a month in white envelopes.

While filing an impeachment case is another possible course of action, Cayosa said that this would still be a “political act” and ultimately up to lawmakers’ discretion.

“The easiest way,” he added, “would be to file a case for unethical conduct, which could lead to her disbarment.”

Cayosa explained that the top rule for lawyers is to respect the law and legal processes—a rule that Duterte violated when she made her public remarks and also when she volunteered to be the legal counsel of her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, which is prohibited under the Constitution.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, for his part, stressed that public statements about the assassination of government officials carry significant political weight and consequences.

“Any public statement about the assassination of government officials has as much political impact and repercussion as one about impeachment, mass action, or other methods of removing a person from public office, whether legally or extralegally,” Guevarra said in a Viber message to the Inquirer.

Repercussions

“The next few days will reveal what form these political repercussions may take,” he added.

However, Guevarra declined to comment on the legal implications, explaining that he did not want to preempt any actions by the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Office of the Ombudsman.

“The OSG’s role is to represent the state and its agencies before the superior courts at the appropriate time,” Guevarra pointed out.

However, the DOJ has deferred the investigation of Duterte’s assassination threats to law enforcement agencies, saying it will be “ready and willing” to take action once a formal complaint is filed.

“All we can say at this time is that there is an active investigation underway by the NBI and the CIDG, and the DOJ is prepared to hear any complaint that may be filed,” Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez said in another dzBB interview.

Authenticity confirmation

For its part, the National Bureau of Investigation on Sunday confirmed the authenticity of the video showing Duterte threatening the lives of the President, the first lady, and Romualdez over an alleged plot against her.

NBI Director Jaime Santiago said in a Viber message that Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had asked the agency to confirm the video’s authenticity.

“In response to the call from the executive secretary and in coordination with the Presidential Security Command, the secretary of justice has directed the NBI to determine the veracity of the video clip circulating online regarding the threat coming from VP Duterte,” his message read.

According to Santiago: “The NBI cybercrime investigators have found the videoclip to be authentic. Hindi po ito deepfake or AI-generated (It was not a deepfake or AI-generated video).”

“The findings were already reported to the secretary of justice… investigation is still ongoing,” he added. —with reports from Kathleen De Villa