A House prosecution spokesperson said Sunday that anger could not justify threats against public officials, arguing that Vice President Sara Z. Duterte should have exercised restraint regardless of her emotional state.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said government officials must maintain self-control even when experiencing intense anger.
“Dapat ang mga opisyal ng gobyerno meron po silang restraint. You have to have a sense, a level of restraint na maski ganun kalaki ang galit, puot or galit, hindi mo gagamitin ito para ikaw ay magbanta,” Alonto Adiong said in a radio interview.
“At hindi lang magbanta, i-explain na meron kang nakausap na hitman or mamamatay-tao para patayin ang Pangulo,” he added.
Duterte is facing an impeachment charge over statements she made during an online press briefing on Nov. 23, 2024.
During the briefing, the Vice President said she had contracted someone to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she herself were killed.
Her defense has argued before the Senate impeachment court that the remarks were made in anger and amid an alleged plot against her known as “Oplan Romanov.”
The prosecution, however, has maintained that the defense has presented no evidence supporting the existence of the alleged operation.
Alonto Adiong rejected the argument that Duterte’s anger made her statements acceptable.
“Hindi ho dapat natin gawing katanggap-tanggap o dahil lang ang Vice President, sabihin natin according to the defense ay galit, ay hindi ho natin gawing katanggap-tanggap ’yan at i-normalize,” he said.
He said Filipinos should demand higher standards of conduct from elected officials than those expected of relatives, friends or colleagues.
“Kung ayaw po nating marinig ang ganyang klaseng pananalita sa ating mga kaibigan, mga anak, kapamilya, katrabaho, dapat din na i-demand natin sa ating mga halal sa gobyerno na hindi sila nagsasalita at gumagawa ng mga pag-uugali na hindi po sang-ayon, hindi lang ho sa ating standard of morality as Filipinos but even against the Constitution,” Alonto Adiong said.
He said the impeachment proceedings would help establish the standard of conduct expected of officials occupying the country’s highest positions.
“Is it a proper conduct for a public official, let alone the second-highest official of the land, to just simply make threats and then impose upon the people to accept it simply because she’s angry? Hindi po pwede ’yun,” he said.
“Dapat mas mataas ang standard na dini-demand natin sa ating mga halal na namumuno sa atin,” he added.