Threat to BBM’s life undeniable

By Herbert Vego

THERE must be only one reason why the lawyers of Vice President Sara Duterte insisted on denying her “grave threats” in her ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate/Impeachment Court.  I am tempted to sing, “Money, money, money”.

I cannot imagine VP Sara not guilty of threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez when we all have seen her seven video-recorded outbursts as repeatedly played on TV and in the social media, and affirmed by witnesses John Mark Calilung and Jeremy Lotoc on the second and third days of trial.

Under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code, threatening to kill or harm a person is a  criminal offense.

Among the exact quotes made by the Vice President are: “May kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘Kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez.’ No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako.”

“Kapag mamatay ako, huwag ka tumigil ha, hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila.”

The video evidence also showed a press conference on October 18, 2024, where VP Sara warned Senator Imee Marcos that she would exhume the remains of her father, the late Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Sr., from the Libingan ng mga Bayani and throw them into the West Philippine Sea if the political attacks against her and her family did not stop.

It was ironic that Imee did not take offense. To this day, she is a political ally of Inday Sara.

VP Sara was furious and fuming mad, in effect betraying her anger and hatred at the “dead President” she was aching to succeed.

I cannot imagine the vice-president boycotting the impeachment trial and relying instead on her expensive lawyers to defend her if she were innocent.

The mere fact that she never came out to deny its authenticity is already a confirmation of its authenticity.

And so, it was the defense lawyers who questioned the competence of the two witnesses from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the authenticity of recordings stored in the USB gadget.

However, they had conflicting versions of what could have triggered her emotional outbursts.

First, that VP Sara was merely reacting to the detention of her chief of staff, Atty. Zuleika Lopez, at the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) for “undue interference” in congressional proceedings by instructing state auditors not to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Committee on Good Government regarding the utilization of the Vice President’s confidential funds.

Second, as revealed by defense counsel Mark Vinluan, the vice-president was reacting to “Operation Romanov” that had allegedly been hatched by unnamed individuals to kill her.

“Operation Romanov” calls to mind the Romanov dynasty that ended during the Russian Revolution of 1917 with the abdication of repressive Russian Emperor Nicholas II.  In 1918, angered by widespread economic collapse, Bolshevik revolutionaries executed Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his entire family.

The allusion to the Romanov dynasty, had earlier been announced by VP Sara’s brother, Davao City Vice-Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Zimmerman Duterte during a candlelight prayer rally in Davao City sometime 2024.

It was meant to warn political rivals about the fate of rulers who lose their grip on power.

But why would Pres. Marcos think of killing Sara when he is already the No. 1 public official in the Philippines?

On the contrary, it’s the vice-president who stands to benefit as his Constitutional successor in case the President dies or is incapacitated.

Therefore, she owes us an explanation why she was not joking when she sought an assassin to kill him.