The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
30°F
Current Conditions
Mist
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Philippine VP Duterte slams police charges amid Marcos feud

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - JUNE 30: Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., together with the new Vice President Sara Duterte, pose for pictures after taking his oath as the next President, at the National Museum of Fine Arts on June 30, 2022 in Manila, Philippines. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. took his oath as the next Philippine President on Thursday, completing a once unthinkable political revival of his family 36 years after his dictator father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was ousted by millions of Filipinos in a people power revolution. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images) (Ezra Acayan)
By Manolo Serapio Jr. and Andreo Calonzo Washington Post

The Philippine police filed a complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte and her security detail over an alleged assault, prompting her to claim she is being persecuted and that her relations with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are now beyond repair.

The police allegations relate to events during the transfer of Duterte’s chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, to a government hospital from the House of Representatives, where Lopez was detained, according to a police statement. “Multiple charges” were filed over “unlawful acts related to the assault, disobedience, and coercion that occurred during the incident,” it said.

“They are really going after me,” Duterte said in a livestreamed briefing shortly after the charges were announced. “They really want to remove me from my position and the threats against me are true.”

Just two years after they won election on a joint ticket, Duterte’s relationship with Marcos has completely fractured, and she last week claimed that in the event of her death, she had arranged for the killing of the president, his wife and his cousin, the house speaker. Her father, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, on Monday called for the military to correct “fractured governance,” remarks that some interpreted as a call for the army to intervene, even as he said he wasn’t calling for a coup.

For its part, the police said today’s action was about the rule of law.

“The Philippine National Police remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold justice and ensure that all individuals are held accountable under the law, regardless of their position,” police Chief General Rommel Marbil said.

Sara Duterte has also been summoned separately by the National Bureau of Investigation to appear on Friday and explain her remarks that she had approached someone to kill Marcos.

“Don’t worry about my security because I’ve already talked to someone,” Duterte said in livestreamed remarks on Facebook last week. “I told him if I get killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez,” she said, using the initials of the president, who’s known as Bongbong. “I told him, don’t stop until you have killed them and then he said yes.”

She has since said her comments were taken out of context. “Tossing the word ‘assassin’ into this issue makes things even more terrifying - and especially because I never used that term during my recent consternation against the Marcos administration’s failure to serve the Filipinos while it masterfully persecutes political enemies,” she said in a Facebook post.

On Wednesday, Duterte was asked about the possibility of patching up relations with Marcos. “I really believe that we have reached the point of no return,” she said.

—With assistance from Ditas Lopez.