Lotoc: Actual sedition not required to charge inciting to sedition vs VP Duterte

MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) inciting to sedition charge against Vice President Sara Duterte does not need “actual” sedition, NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc said on Tuesday.

Lotoc, a witness in Duterte’s impeachment trial, remarked after Senator-judge Joel Villanueva asked if an incited individual is necessary for a potential offender to receive such a charge.

“In order for the speeches to be seditious, it is not necessary that there be actual sedition. The law also penalizes or punishes those who dare to overthrow the government or to stir the people against the government, or to disturb the peace of the community or undermine public safety and public order,” Lotoc responded in Filipino.

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It was the House prosecution panel who called Lotoc to the stand as the impeachment court tackled Duterte’s impeachment article IV, referring to the vice president’s betrayal of public trust and other high crimes among others.

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READ: Vinluan: Sara Duterte remarks vs Marcos ‘not threats in the first place’

In 2024, Duterte claimed that she contracted a hitman to takedown President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, if she herself passes.

In the same exchange with Villanueva, Lotoc also explained that for the incitement to sedition charge, the utterance of statements are considered, as well as the surrounding circumstances.

“What we saw was that if someone in the highest position in the Philippines can do this and we don’t address or regulate it, then anyone can do it,” he said in Filipino.

He continued in Filipino: “The vice president is considered a model, as a public official… When the people see this and the government does nothing, it will cause a domino effect… We saw that this was dangerous, it was alarming.” /jpv

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