VICE President Sara Duterte believes that her critics will stop at nothing to see her jailed or even get killed as she expects more attacks from whom she called “desperate people” out to get her and her family.
She also believes that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should be held liable for the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, for allowing a foreign entity to violate the country’s sovereignty.
In an interview in Zamboanga City on Sunday that was released by the Office of the Vice President on Tuesday, Duterte was asked if she expected more cases to be filed against her and her family. The vice president already faces an impeachment trial, and criticism on her use of confidential funds.
Vice President Sara Duterte
“Desperate people, they can think of the worst things to do. So, yes, I thought that they would never stop until I got jailed or killed. That is the only thing they have not done to me,” Duterte said.
She also believes that the release of the CCTV video of her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, threatening and headbutting a man at a bar, is part of the Marcos administration’s way to cover up its mistakes.
“There is a clear pattern from the administration that if they have faults, they divert the issue and the story towards attacking their political opponents,” she said in Filipino.
Duterte said she believes that Marcos, his Cabinet members, and Philippine National Police personnel should be held liable for the arrest of her father, who was sent to The Hague in the Netherlands to stand trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs.
She said her father’s arrest is a case of “extraordinary rendition” or an abduction of an individual and bringing him to a third-party state, something the government has denied repeatedly.
“It is not possible that the departments would move on their own unless the president is incapacitated that he does not know what is happening in the country,” Duterte said.
Duterte has been barnstorming around the country in the last few weeks to campaign for the 10 senatorial candidates under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) slate, a promise that she made after her father was arrested.
She said she was confident the people supported the PDP slate, but expressed concern that administration candidates could use government aid programs to sway voters — which she said was “legalized vote buying.”
Duterte is slated to participate in the miting de avance or final rally of the Dutert10 senatorial candidates on May 8 at the Liwasang Bonifacio.
She said the May midterm elections could provide lessons for the campaign for the presidential election in 2028.
“We need to think of a strategy for the next election, and this 2025 election is the nearest to 2028 where we can study our moves,” Duterte said.
