MANILA, Philippines — Iginiit ng defense team ni Vice President Sara Duterte nitong Miyerkoles na ang kontrobersyal na pahayag nito kaugnay ng umano’y pagkuha ng tao para patayin sina Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos, at dating Speaker Martin Romualdez ay hindi patunay na may kinontratang assassin ang Bise Presidente.
Ginawa ng abogado ni Duterte na si Atty. Mark Vinluan ang pahayag bilang tugon sa tanong ni senator-judge Risa Hontiveros sa prosecution panel nitong Martes kung paano maituturing na impeachable ang pahayag ni Duterte kung hindi naman nito pinatutunayan na aktwal siyang kumuha ng assassin.
“The prosecution admitted that the video does not prove any fact other than its existence. In simple words, there is no proof of any contracting of an assassin,” ani Vinluan.
“…trying to prove this stretched narrative using a hodgepodge of materials is a waste of this honorable court’s time and the Filipino people’s money,” dagdag niya.
Ayon kay Vinluan, hindi dapat ituring na kill plot ang pahayag ni Duterte kundi tugon umano sa totoong banta laban sa kanya at sa kanyang pamilya.
“Si VP Sara na mismo ang nagsabi na hindi assassin ang kinausap niya. This term only came from people who took her statements out of their proper context and tried to exaggerate them for what they really meant,” sabi ni Vinluan.
“The truth of the matter is this. She and her family were threatened and while her response was unconventional, it was justified,” dagdag pa niya.
Ipinaliwanag ni Vinluan na ang pahayag ni Duterte ay tugon sa tanong hinggil sa “Operation Romanov,” isang umano’y plano para patayin ang pamilya Duterte. Nabanggit sa ulat na ang nagtanong kay Duterte tungkol sa “Operation Romanov” ay hindi mamamahayag o employed media professional, kundi isang vlogger.
“When VP Sara uttered those words, she was not responding as Sara Duterte, the Vice-President, but Sara Duterte, the wife, mother, daughter, and sister who only sought to protect her own and her family members’ lives,” ani Vinluan.
Iginiit din ng depensa na “real” ang banta laban kay Duterte, kasabay ng pagbanggit sa umano’y unauthorized intelligence at surveillance operations ng government operatives na naglantad umano sa kanyang pamilya sa seryosong security risks at nagdulot ng “intense trauma and uncontrollable fear.”
“She didn’t commit an impeachable offense. She drew the line in the sand and said, enough is enough. That is the meaning, and that is the context,” sabi ni Vinluan.
Ikinatwiran din ni Vinluan na ang mga alegasyon ng grave threats at inciting to sedition ay mga paglabag sa ilalim ng Revised Penal Code na may parusang “prisión correccional,” kaya saklaw umano ito ng municipal trial courts o iba pang first-level courts.
“These charges are not other high crimes as contemplated by the Constitution as grounds for impeachment and are therefore not impeachable,” ani Vinluan.
Sinabi rin niya na “fighting two important battles that day” si Duterte nang gawin nito ang pahayag.
“One against the threat to her family’s life, and another against the life of the ordinary Filipino, constantly suffocated by the immense weight of corruption, which she talked about during the presscon. She never incited sedition. She merely echoed the voice of ordinary Filipinos,” sabi ni Vinluan.
Pinayagan ang defense team na sumagot matapos sabihin ni presiding officer at senator-judge Francis Escudero na ang linya ng pagtatanong ni Hontiveros ay “pertains to the final issue of this entire impeachment proceeding.” RNT
