Duterte to skip NBI hearing, file charges vs PNP
Vice President Sara Duterte said Wednesday she would not attend the hearing of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday and would file countercharges against the Philippine National Police (PNP).
The NBI served a subpoena against her on Tuesday, asking her to go to NBI Director Jaime Santiago’s office on Friday morning so she could explain her supposed death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Lisa Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The NBI said in its subpoena that this was to help "shed light" on its investigation of her grave threat and possible violation of the Anti-Terrorism law.
In a press briefing in Zamboanga City, Duterte said the schedules of the hearings of the NBI and the House Committee on Good Governance and Public Accountability conflict, so she asked if she could reschedule the former.
The House panel is probing the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) and the Department of Education’s (DepEd) misuse of confidential funds.
“The very first thing we did is, I requested for the invitation to be rescheduled because it conflicted with our schedule with the hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Good Governance,” Duterte told reporters.
“We prioritized the hearing in the House of Representatives. Because even if we don’t attend the investigation (of NBI), we are always talking. And I promised all the employees of the Office of the Vice President, since the start of the probe, that I would accompany them whenever they are summoned to the hearings,” she added.
Duterte said she has not seen any of the allegations against her yet, but believes they “would not hold water”.
On her charge of grave assault, she said: “I believe they are just forcing themselves to build a case based on my statement.”
Duterte said she found her charge of violating the Anti-Terrorism law “funny”, citing that the government was doing it to reach her properties and assets.
“Filing a charge on the violation of the Anti-Terrorism is not without precedent. What I mentioned earlier was what they wanted to do so they keep insisting that there is a violation of the law. They want to cancel my passport, issue a red notice, ask the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to investigate me, and issue all kinds of search warrants,” she said.
Duterte said they are mulling over filing charges against the PNP for disobedience, kidnapping, and robbery.
On the PNP not knowing about her receiving death threats, she said she was it was “embarrassing” for them and showed their incompetence.
Duterte said that her relationship with Marcos had “reached a point of no return”.
“I really believe that we reached the point of no return. And it is clear that they are really going after me and they really want to remove me from my position,” Duterte said.The threats against me are really true. Even before the issue with the House of Representatives happened last Friday, all of the threats against me, the personnel of the Office of the Vice President, and even my family are documented,” she added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
