VP Sara Duterte Claims Allegations against her Allegedly Lacks Support
SARA DUTERTE – The Vice President released a statement following the fourth day of her Senate impeachment trial.
On the fourth day of the Senate impeachment trial, the prosecution and the defense battled over the alleged “threats” of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte against Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The discussions surrounded the statements of Vice Pres. Duterte when she reportedly claimed that she allegedly hired someone to kill Marcos Jr., the First Lady, and the then-House Speaker if a supposed plot against her succeeds.
The Vice President’s camp justified her remarks as allegedly part of her freedom to express. On the other side, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc claimed that Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s “threats” is allegedly not covered by the freedom of expression. According to him, it will supposedly bring chaos to the country if it will be considered as a freedom of expression.
Duterte’s camp maintained that there was allegedly no threat in the remarks of the Vice President. Recently, the Vice President issued a statement following the fourth day of her impeachment trial.
In her statement addressed to the Filipino people, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that the country allegedly what she has been saying all along that the complaint against her is not supported by evidence.
“Repeatedly claiming that there were threats when none existed, inventing an assassin where there was none, and fabricating evidence to support those claims,” the Vice President said.
According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, allegedly making up evidence to support the claims against her does not “transform fiction into fact”. Instead, it supposedly undermines the integrity of the public institutions, reduces public trust, waste the government’s resources, and corrupt the search for what is true.
The Vice President further stressed in her statement that an impeachment proceeding must be grounded in “credible evidence, not speculation, manufactured narratives, or unsupported allegations”. According to her, facts are the basis of the rule of law and not fiction.
The Vice President has never attended the impeachment trial since day one. Previously, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte came to the Senate but it was not to attend her impeachment trial.
Amid the claims of the NBI Director that Duterte’s “threats” are allegedly not covered by the Freedom of Speech, Senator-judge Robin Padilla gave an advise to NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc over supposed complaints against him.