The House prosecution panel said the alleged conditional nature of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s “kill” threat does not make it “any less unacceptable” or weaken the impeachment case against her.
House legal spokesperson Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr., who also serves as counsel for the House prosecutors, said the prosecution rejects the defense’s argument that the phrase “kapag pinatay ako” changes the legal significance of Duterte’s statements.
“Our position remains that condition does not make the threat any less unacceptable,” Tolosa said during a press briefing.
The issue involves Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses Duterte of making grave threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
The charge stemmed from Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 online media briefing, where she publicly said she had contracted someone to kill them if she herself were killed.
Tolosa said the prosecution’s case is anchored on what it described as Duterte’s own admission that she had reached an agreement with an assassin.
“Let’s remember the statements made by the respondent. She admitted that she already had an agreement with the assassin, an agreement to end the life of no less than the President of the Republic, the First Lady, and the then sitting Speaker of the House,” he said.
He said the prosecution has consistently maintained that position since its opening statement before the Senate impeachment court.
The defense argued that prosecutors presented only excerpts of Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 online media briefing and left out the phrase “kapag pinatay ako,” making the alleged threat appear unconditional.
Tolosa disputed the claim, saying the complete statement had been placed on the record during the testimony of the prosecution’s first witness.
“First of all, to be accurate, I think the witness himself repeatedly stated that, nung tinatanong po siya about doon sa mga relevant na portions ho ng interview, sinabi din ho niya ’yan, ’yung parte na ’yun bago siya sumagot, at pagkatapos, ’yung buong statement ho na ’yan. So nailatag naman ’yun,” he said.
He added that the defense remains free to emphasize the same portion of the recording during cross-examination.
The prosecution began presenting evidence on Article IV by calling National Bureau of Investigation Senior Agent John Mark Calilung as its first witness.
Calilung authenticated Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 online media briefing, as well as official statements issued by the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the National Security Council, and other government agencies, showing that authorities treated the alleged threats as a serious national security concern.