Manila, Nov 24, (dpa/GNA) – The Philippine Justice Department said on Sunday, it was investigating a threat by Vice President Sara Duterte, to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assassinated, if she herself was killed.
“The matter is now subject to an ongoing investigation,” the department said. “If the evidence warrants, this could lead to eventual prosecution.”
Duterte made the statement in response to comments, urging her to stay safe while she was at the House of Representatives, where her chief of staff was detained for failing to reply to questions during a hearing on alleged misuse of funds at the vice presidential office.
“This country is going to hell because we are led by a person, who doesn’t know how to be a president, and who is a liar,” she said in the profanity-laden briefing broadcast on her Facebook page on Saturday.
“Don’t worry about my safety. I have talked to a person and I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM [Marcos], [First Lady] Liza Araneta, and [Speaker] Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” she added. “I said, do not stop until you kill them and he said yes.”
Legislators said the statement appeared to be an attempt by Duterte to divert attention from the investigation, on the alleged misuse of 612.5 million pesos ($10.4 million) worth of Education Department funds.
“That’s just to divert attention from the unexplained utilization of 612.5 million pesos of confidential funds, when she was still education secretary,” House Deputy Speaker, David Suarez said Sunday.
“They are experts in peddling bluffs,” he added.
Duterte resigned from her post as education secretary in Marcos’ Cabinet in June, indicating a crack in the political alliance that propelled the duo to a clear victory in 2022.
She is the daughter of Marcos’ predecessor, who was notorious for his crude language and a controversial war on drugs that left thousands dead during his six-year term from 2016.
The growing rift between the Marcos and Duterte political families and their allies is happening ahead of mid-term elections in May, when Filipinos are to vote for new members of the House of Representatives, half of the Senate and thousands of local officials.
It will be a litmus test of Marcos’ popularity and an opportunity for him and his political allies to consolidate power.
GNA