Malacañang on Wednesday said Vice President Sara Duterte’s remarks about having President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez killed constituted a national security threat, not an ordinary case of grave threats.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro rejected the defense’s argument during Duterte’s impeachment trial that the statement was merely a response to questions raised during a November 2024 virtual press briefing.
“Hindi ito simpleng grave threats na maaaring isampa diyan sa korte. Hindi involved dito ang simpleng tao. Ang pinag-uusapan po natin dito ay pangulo. Ito ay isyu about national security,” Castro said.
“This is not a simple case of grave threats that can just be filed in court. This does not involve an ordinary person. We are talking about the President here. This is a matter of national security,” she added.
Castro said the defense’s position raised the troubling implication that threats against the President or head of state could be dismissed without serious consequences.
She also called “ridiculous” the argument that the remarks were not directly communicated to Marcos, the First Lady and Romualdez and therefore could not be considered a threat.
“Isang katawa-tawa ang kanyang mga pahayag. Unang-una, hindi ito lihim; lahat ng tao halos nakapanood, hindi lang sa Pilipinas kung hindi sa buong mundo,” Castro said.
“Such statements are ridiculous. First of all, this was not secret. Almost everyone saw it, not only in the Philippines but around the world,” she added.
Castro noted that neither Duterte nor her defense team had denied that the remarks were made. Instead, she said, they sought to justify them as a reaction to the alleged mistreatment of former Office of the Vice President chief of staff Zuleika Lopez by the House of Representatives and to purported threats against Duterte.