Vice President Sara Duterte is seeking the dismissal of the sedition and grave threat complaints filed against her in connection with her “kill remarks” directed at President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Appearing before the National Prosecution Service’s office at the Department of Justice (DOJ), Duterte submitted her counter-affidavit in response to the charges.
She arrived at the DOJ offices at around 2 p.m., accompanied by her legal counsel, Michael Poa, and Paul Lim.
“I categorically deny the charges against me. Being accused of a criminal offense, I am constitutionally presumed innocent even in these proceedings,” Duterte stated in her affidavit.
For its part, the DOJ said the preliminary investigation into the complaint filed against the Vice President is in full accordance with due process and the rule of law.
In February, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended the filing of grave threat and inciting to sedition charges against Duterte over her controversial kill remarks.
In a statement, the DOJ noted that Duterte shall be given every opportunity to answer the allegations, and to present her defense before the investigating prosecutors.
It explained that the preliminary investigation is a “critical stage in the criminal justice process to safeguard against arbitrary prosecution, ensuring that only cases with sufficient evidence and legal basis proceed to trial.”
Prosecutors shall carefully evaluate the evidence presented to determine whether prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction exists, the DOJ added.
It also stressed that they shall ensure that “the process will follow the normal course of law, and that accountability and the rule of law will prevail regardless of who the respondent may be.”
After filing her counter-affidavit before the DOJ yesterday, Duterte asserted her intent to “set the facts” straight and clear her name of what she described as false accusations and “baseless” charges.
“Nevertheless, I welcome this opportunity to set the facts straight and to correct Complainants’ false allegations, clear my name of their baseless charges, and spare our government and our people the corresponding waste of limited time, effort, and resources being caused thereby,” she said.
To recall, Duterte said in an online press briefing that she ordered someone to kill Marcos, his wife, and the House Speaker if an alleged plot against her succeeds.
Duterte later clarified that her “assassination” statement was not a threat, saying she only highlighted the alleged threat to her security.
In another interview, she insisted her remarks were made in jest, emphasizing that they were “maliciously taken out of logical context.”.
Duterte accused the Marcos administration of blowing her comments out of proportion and fostering an unnecessarily hostile atmosphere over what she described as a “plan without flesh.”