Sara Calls On Marcos To Resign

Vice President Sara Duterte called on President Marcos to resign, branding him the “problem of the nation” as she accused his administration of corruption, abuse and political harassment amid the cases filed against her and members of her family.

“I cannot bring myself to just stay silent while I see you swimming through floods. Because I see you struggling so hard for your families. Because I witnessed the abuse of Marcos with my very own eyes,” Duterte told her supporters.

“Remember to keep calling for the departure of our nation’s problem, whose name is Bongbong Marcos. Resign, get out of there. You are a liar, you are abusive, you are corrupt,” she added.

Duterte likened Marcos to his father, former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., whom she accused of ruining the country.

“My countrymen, our fight does not end here. Calling for the resignation of an addict will continue until it penetrates his broken mind – that he is the problem of this nation. Just like his father, who ruined our country, that is also what the son is doing,” she said.

Palace: Rushing to take over?

Responding to Duterte, Malacañang official Claire Castro said: “She wants the President to step down? Why? Is the Vice President rushing to take over [the presidency]? Their plan is obvious. So to our countrymen, be mindful of who the true leader is.”

Duterte said the cases involving her family should not be treated as political drama and instead pointed to what she described as abuses under the Marcos administration.

She cited the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and her ongoing impeachment proceedings as part of what she called schemes against her family.

“Marcos is fooling us right to our faces. Do not forget the time when the law was being broken right in front of us. Do not forget the corruption that they insist on hiding to this day,” she said.

She urged her supporters to continue fighting the administration, accusing Marcos of being ungrateful to the people who elected him.

“He has no sense of gratitude to the people. He has no sense of gratitude to everyone who went to the polling precincts to put him in office. He has no shame,” Duterte said.

“That is how it really is with an addict. Their thinking no longer passes through reality. Let us continue to fight against the abusive, the addicts and the corrupt,” she added. “This is not just our fight; this is our fight for our children.”

Deferred

Duterte made the statement following her supposed arraignment yesterday at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, which was deferred after her lawyers filed a motion challenging the proceedings.

Her counsel, Paul Lawrence Lim, confirmed that the defense had filed a motion with the court but declined to disclose its nature out of respect for the proceedings.

“They granted the deferral so the Vice President will not be arraigned yet,” Lim told reporters.

Lim said Duterte continued to abide by the law despite questioning the court’s jurisdiction over the case.

“The Vice President is abiding to the law despite questioning the jurisdiction of the court, she still came to show that she is abiding by the law,” he said.

The defense also filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with a temporary restraining order before the Supreme Court questioning a Department of Justice resolution, alongside its filing before the trial court.

The DOJ said it would respect the trial court’s decision and allow the judicial process to take its course.

Duterte posted bail last week after the court issued a warrant for her arrest over the three grave threats charges.

The DOJ case stemmed from a November 2024 online press briefing in which Duterte said she had hired someone to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and then-House speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed.

Despite the charges, Duterte said she would continue to face the cases filed against her.

“We will take each case as they come and we will answer each complaint as they come in,” she said. “Since 2023, I feel threatened. I feel harassed. I do not feel safe but I have a job that I have to do and I have an obligation to all of the people.”

Duterte vs Remulla

The legal proceedings also prompted a fresh exchange between Duterte and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla over her arrest and the handling of the case.

Remulla earlier claimed Duterte wanted to be detained at Camp Crame following the issuance of the arrest warrant, saying authorities had prevented what he described as an attempt to create drama.

“They wanted drama. They wanted her detained. We didn’t allow it. We wanted to go according to the rules of law and the rules of court,” Remulla said.

Rejecting the claim, Duterte said: “He’s the one who wants the drama. The real drama, if you will see, was the arrest of Martin Romualdez.”

Remulla maintained that he was only doing his job and advised Duterte to focus on the legal and political issues confronting her.

“I think she has bigger things to mind than me. I’m just doing my job stating the facts,” Remulla said. “She has an impeachment going on. Maybe her energies are better focused on real world problems.”

Complaints

Duterte has also vowed to pursue legal remedies after the Taguig prosecutor’s office dismissed the first of two perjury complaints she filed against her alleged former bagman, Ramil Madriaga.

Duterte’s counsel and spokesman, Paolo Panelo, said the Vice President would not be deterred by the dismissal and would pursue the second complaint “whatever the odds.”

“If a complaint of that strength can be discarded, then the message is simple: a man may brazenly lie under oath against the Vice President and this administration will protect the lie if it is politically useful,” Panelo said.

“It would seem that they could not afford to do otherwise because this would amount to confirmation from the government itself that one of the bases for the impeachment against the Vice President was perjured testimony,” he added.

The Taguig prosecutor’s office dismissed the complaint for “lack of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction.”

Duterte filed the complaint in March after Madriaga accused her of bankrolling her 2022 vice presidential campaign with “dark money” from drug lords and now-banned Philippine offshore gaming operators.

Case vs Padilla

Meanwhile, the DOJ said it has yet to issue a resolution on the obstruction of justice complaint against Sen. Robin Padilla over the alleged escape of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.

DOJ spokesman Polo Martinez said the case remains under preliminary investigation, contrary to an earlier statement by National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag that the investigation had been completed and a resolution could already be forthcoming.

“The obstruction of justice case involving Senator Padilla is still currently undergoing preliminary investigation,” Martinez said.

The complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group stemmed from allegations that Padilla and others helped Dela Rosa’s alleged escape following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court. – With additional reports from Daphne Galvez, Emmanuel Tupas and Bella Cariaso