A photo of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte during the 2022 national elections campaign period gained traction anew following the latter’s outbursts against her former running mate.
The second highest government official of the land has been capturing national and international attention with her online midnight briefing where she shared of contracting someone to kill the president, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she be killed.
Romualdez is also the president’s first cousin.
Duterte’s remarks came after a supporter urged her to stay safe, saying she was in enemy territory as she was in the House of Representatives overnight.
At that time, the vice president was in the detention facility of her office’s chief-of-staff, Zuleika Lopez of the Office of the Vice President, who was detained at the House of Representatives after being cited in contempt on November 20.
“‘Wag kang mag-alala sa security ko kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM [Bongbong Marcos], si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” Duterte answered.
“Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am,” she added, responding to her supporter.
“‘Pag namatay ako, ‘wag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapapatay sila. And then, he said, yes,” Duterte continued.
Her remarks have since been picked by various news outlets, including foreign ones such as Al Jazeera, Reuters, France24, Washington Post and Channel News Asia.
It has also prompted a response from Marcos, who has been previously silent on Duterte’s past comments about his supposed incompetence and lack of leadership.
READ: Political rift widens as VP Duterte accuses Marcos of incompetence
Without naming anyone, the president said he would not take lightly the “troubling” threats against him and that “such criminal plans should not be overlooked.”
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The National Bureau of Investigation has also summoned Duterte about her alleged offense of making a grave threat and possible violations of the anti-terror law.
The vice president’s remarks have since prompted some Filipinos to bring up old posts of the two during the 2022 campaign period, when they ran under the “UniTeam” alliance.
One of these is a photo of Marcos and Duterte doing a hand-heart gesture as a pair. It has amassed 78,000 pure laughing reactions, 3,200 comments, and 72,000 shares.
Uploaded by a Facebook page in December 2021, the picture has recently received comments following their rift as public officials.
“This shows how dirty Philippine politics can be. Alliances are made to win, but betrayals come once they’re in power. The Filipino people deserve leaders who truly put them first. We deserve better,” a Facebook user commented on Monday, November 25.
“Unity [‘yung] time ng gamitan, haha,” another Filipino wrote on the same date.
“Kumusta na?” a different Pinoy asked.
“Just how fast the night changes?” another online user said with a skull emoji.
“What went wrong ang atake,” another Filipino wrote.
Their coalition, the “UniTeam,” was formed ahead of the 2022 national elections, which ran on the political platform of “unity.”
It had the initial aim to unite Filipinos in recovering from the crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marcos also presented himself as a unifying leader when he initially announced his presidential bid, saying that he believed unity was the first step in recovering from the crisis before.
“Nasa puso at ugali ng mga Pilipino ang maging mabait. ‘Di naman tayo pala-away, ‘di naman tayo naghahanap ng gulo. Ang hanap lang natin ay magkaroon ng disenteng buhay para sa ating sarili, para sa ating pamilya at para sa ating bansa,” he said before.
Their “UniTeam” coalition carried him and Duterte to election victory.
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Duterte responds
Meanwhile, Duterte has since said that her recent comments against her former running mate were “maliciously taken out of logical context” as a national security concern.
The vice president questioned the Marcos administration for considering her statement as a security threat and argued that “a supposed conditional act of revenge does not constitute an active threat.”
“There is absolutely no flesh on the bone, and despite the absence of a reliable investigation, authorities were quick to consider this a national security concern,” she said.
The Department of Justice said it is reviewing Duterte’s remarks for the possible filing of cases against her, which includes grave threats and sedition.
The Philippine National Police also said investigations are underway into possible charges against Duterte, her security, and her staff, including violations of Article 151 (Resistance and Disobedience to Authority), and criminal and administrative offenses.
