Lying VP or threatening VP? Pick one, Ridon tells Duterte, supporters

MANILA, Philippines — Senator-judge Bam Aquino’s questions to the defense counsel only revealed that Vice President Sara Duterte will either be a lying vice president or an official who makes threats, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said on Tuesday.

Ridon, in a press briefing, was asked about Aquino’s questions to lawyer Mark Vinluan on Monday about Duterte’s threats — whether the Vice President’s camp is denying that Duterte contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

When Vinluan said that they deny that Duterte contracted a hitman, Aquino asked whether the Vice President’s statements in the online press briefing last November 23, 2024 were mere lies — prompting Ridon to conclude that Duterte only has two options now.

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“There are two things that the Vice President has to choose from in talking about this matter: first, if he did not solicit the services of a killer, this means you have a Vice President that lies.  But if it is true that she contracted a killer, then you have a Vice President that contracts a killer,” Ridon, speaking Filipino, told reporters.

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“She can only pick from these two things.  And on both counts I think it will not be acceptable to the people if you have a Vice President that lies before the people, or a Vice President who contracts a killer,” he added.

READ: Bam Aquino: If lawyers say there’s no hitman, was Sara Duterte lying?

According to Ridon, regardless of what persona Duterte picks, the fact remains that the Vice President threatened the President and his relatives — which is still not an acceptable matter to many people.

“But even if we set that aside, it is clear that for the last two weeks we have a Vice President who threatened the President and his family.  Is this acceptable to the people?  I think the answer is still no,” he noted.

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Ridon was asked if Duterte’s situation can be compared to that of Senator Rodante Marcoleta — who escaped electoral violations over the P75 million funds that he received as campaign donations, but was still charged for plunder by the Office of the Ombudsman.

But Ridon said Duterte’s situation is worse because she is an impeachable officer who aspires to the presidency in 2028.

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“Well, the truth is that it is worse than the situation of Senator Marcoleta, because we are not talking about a senator; this is about the Vice President, the second highest person in the land, and wants to be president in 2028,” Ridon explained.

“So that’s the question raised for the people now, is this the kind of president that we want?  First, a vice president that lies, or a vice president that contracts a killer.  And lastly, a vice president that threatens the president and his family.  So that’s it, these are the multiverses that the Vice President will have to choose as to what situation she will enter into,” he added.

During the trial on Monday, Aquino asked whether Duterte’s statements in the November 2024 online briefing were all lies since the defense denies that the Vice President contracted a hitman.

“Okay, so for the record, you are denying that the Vice President actually spoke to a hitman, when in fact, Attorney (Jeremy) Lotoc said that she (Duterte) was not lying.  But what you are saying is that she lied and did not actually talk to a hitman.  Is that what you are saying?” Aquino asked.

“Yes, Your Honor. I don’t know what the frame of mind of Attorney Lotoc is, but that is our answer, Your Honor, that she denied,” Vinluan said.

Duterte’s threats were the subject of Article IV of the Articles of Impeachment against her.  The threat, the prosecution said, came after she lashed out at the Marcos couple and Romualdez after her chief-of-staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, was detained within the House premises.

Lopez’s detention came after she was cited for contempt by the House committee on good government and public accountability of the 19th Congress for allegedly committing undue interference during the panel’s investigation into alleged misuse of confidential funds within Duterte’s offices.

READ: Zuleika Lopez among prosecution’s next witnesses in impeachment trial

At one point, Duterte was asked if she is not concerned about her safety.  In response, the Vice President said that they should not worry about her security as she has already talked to a person to kill the President, the First Lady, and the former Speaker, if she herself got killed.

Before questioning Vinluan, Aquino asked Lotoc, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) official who was part of the team that investigated Duterte’s threats, whether they found any denial from Duterte after the November 23, 2024 briefing.

Instead of a denial, Lotoc — who was at the witness stand on Monday — said that what they saw were subsequent affirmations from Duterte that she talked to a hitman.

“Yes your Honor, there was a video dated November 26, 2024, in that video, instead of denying what happened on November 23, she reiterated that your Honor, she admitted that she talked to someone,” Lotoc said.

READ: With or without contract to kill, VP made impeachable offense – lawmaker

“So inulit pa kumbaga (So she repeated it again),” Aquino added.

Lotoc is the second witness called by the prosecution, after NBI Senior Agent John Mark Calilung who was called last Tuesday and Wednesday.

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The defense panel has maintained that Duterte’s statements were part of free speech, but several government officials and the prosecution team believe it was a grave threat — regardless of whether or not the Vice President executed a contract with an assassin to kill the three. /jpv