Defensor opens Duterte trial with ‘sinister’ threat remarks

MANILA, Philippines — Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor on Tuesday opened the prosecution’s case in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, stressing that accountability applies to all, and those in power should not be exempt.

Before the prosecutorial team presented its evidence, Defensor cited a Tacloban City school shooting and the arrest of a teacher who allegedly offered a reward to assassinate former President Rodrigo.

He recalled that both were held accountable for their actions.

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“Responsibility prevails for everyone,” he told senator-judges. “What makes these threats especially sinister is that they do not come from an ordinary citizen, but from the vice president herself.”

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Duterte faces the biggest political test of her career as she confronts a Senate impeachment trial for an accusation that she allegedly abused her power in office over the past four years.

The charges include corruption, bribery, constitutional violations, betrayal of public trust and high crimes.

At the center of the allegations are claims that Duterte threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the first Lady and a former House speaker killed.

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Prosecutors believe that charge is the strongest in her trial, and opted to open with that claim in the proceedings.

The Senate impeachment court allotted 11 trial dates to hear that accusation.

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“The words and actions of the vice president should not be considered as a simple crime under the law, but an outright violation of the Constitution,” Defensor said.

In November 2024, Duterte went on an expletive-laden online briefing where she said she had asked someone to kill the president and his family if she would be assassinated.

She later denied making a threat, rejecting the claim, despite initially having said then that she was not joking.

“I did not make an assassination threat to the president,” Duterte said on Feb. 7, nearly three months after saying she “talked to someone” to take revenge.

Defensor said Duterte’s remarks were “neither accidental nor taken out of context,” noting that they were spoken with the intent of being “taken seriously.”

In a media briefing before the trial hearing, Kabataan Rep. Renee Co said the prosecutorial team will not allow a culture of impunity from taking hold in the country.

“It is a time to strike a blow against impunity,” she said.

She pointed out that statements to have someone killed cannot be deflected by claims of exercising the freedom of expression, adding that such liberty is “limited where the rights of others are threatened.” /apl

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