The Philippines’ Manila Following his estranged vice president’s statement that he would be slain if she were dead, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised Monday to retaliate against what he described as reckless and concerning threats against him.
Marcos did not name his running mate, Vice President Sara Duterte, in a forcefully worded video address to the country, but he did state that such illegal schemes should not be disregarded.
The daughter of fiery former President Rodrigo Dutertes claimed on Saturday that she had given an assassin instructions to kill Marcos, his wife, and the lower house speaker if she were slain, marking a dramatic turn in the bitter feud between Marcos and the influential Duterte family.
During an online news conference, she was answering a question about if she was afraid for her safety. She made no mention of any particular danger.
Marcos stated on Monday that the things we had heard in the preceding days were concerning. Some of us are subjected to the careless use of foul language and death threats.
“I’ll fight them,” he declared, adding that he would not tolerate such illegal attempts.
How much easier is it for regular people to arrange the president’s assassination if it’s that simple? “I said.”
Despite not having heard the president’s comments yet, Sara Duterte informed reporters she had heard of the 1983 assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino, which she blamed on the Marcos family without providing evidence.
As he returned from years of exile, Aquino, a fervent opponent of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, the father of the current president, was shot and killed on the tarmac of the Manila airport. The People Power revolution that overthrew the elder Marcos in 1986 was aided by his murder.
When their family killed Benigno Aquino Jr., the entire country retaliated, Duterte told reporters. The elder Marcos denied any role in the assassination of Aquino.
Following the dissolution of a strong alliance between their two influential families, in which the younger Marcos won the 2022 election by a significant margin, Sara Duterte’s shocking comments were the most recent salvo in a nasty feud that has gotten worse.
She resigned from her cabinet position in June and has fought against legislative examination of her spending during her tenure, occasionally reacting to lawmakers with outright animosity and skipping certain hearings.
She threatened to have Marcos assassinated because lawmakers had ordered her chief of staff to be sent to jail for allegedly obstructing their investigation into the vice president’s alleged misappropriation of public funds, which she denies.
A top justice department official stated that the vice president would be called to appear at the National Bureau of Investigation due to the threats she made, and that she does not have immunity from prosecution. Duterte promised to cooperate.
If we do not take legal action against such threats from a very high-ranking official, it will set a very negative precedent for our nation, Justice Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes Andres told a press conference.
“The self-confessed mastermind’s declared premeditated plot to assassinate the president will now face legal consequences,” Andres said, adding that Duterte would clearly gain if Marcos was hurt because she is next in line to become president.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez echoed the president’s worries, calling Duterte’s remarks dangerous and foolish.
“It sends a chilling message to our people, a message that those in positions of power can contemplate violence,” Romualdez, Marcos’ cousin, stated during a plenary session.
The National Security Council reaffirmed in a statement on Monday that the president’s protection is a non-partisan or non-political issue.
We wouldn’t have reached this scenario if Congress’s valid inquiries had been addressed, Marcos added, adding that it was crucial for the sake of good government that elected officials not obstruct lawmakers’ job.
Only a few weeks had passed since the erratic Rodrigo Duterte was the focus of extensive investigations in the Senate and House into hundreds of murders committed during the infamous war on drugs that characterized his 2016–2022 presidency when Sara Duterte attacked Marcos.
For the first time, the Marcos administration indicated at those sessions that it would assist any international attempt to apprehend the former president, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for potential crimes against humanity.
During the proceedings, Rodrigo Duterte claimed full responsibility for the brutal crackdown and urged the ICC to expedite its probe.
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