Photo: AFP
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte celebrated with journalists on Wednesday, defying an official inquiry into claims that she orchestrated an assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, her former ally. Instead of meeting with government investigators, she hosted a 'thanksgiving' lunch for numerous journalists at her office, accusing the government of attempting to remove her from office and prosecute her in court.
Duterte, 46, was subpoenaed after a November 23 press conference where she claimed to have instructed someone to kill Marcos if a purported threat to her life was carried out. She later clarified that her remarks were misconstrued. The once-strong alliance between Duterte and Marcos, who together secured a landslide victory in the 2022 presidential election, has dramatically deteriorated ahead of next year's midterm elections.
'I do not believe that the investigation will be impartial,' Duterte told reporters, justifying her absence from the inquiry. 'The worst-case scenario we foresee is my removal from office, impeachment, and then a series of legal cases.' Two political parties recently petitioned the House of Representatives to impeach her. However, Marcos has urged the House not to proceed with impeachment, deeming it futile.
'If her reason for not attending is a Christmas party, that is not acceptable,' National Bureau of Investigation director Jaime Santiago stated on Wednesday when questioned about Duterte's decision. 'If you are accused and do not respond, your silence implicates you.'
In a recent online press conference filled with expletives, Duterte claimed to have told someone to kill Marcos, his wife Liza, and House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, if she were assassinated. 'If I die, do not stop until you have killed them,' she said, emphasizing that she was 'not joking.' She later refuted making a death threat, characterizing her remarks as a reaction to the Marcos administration's shortcomings. Both Romualdez and Duterte are anticipated to vie for the presidency in 2028.
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