By Ade S. Fajardo
The other day, the Vice President reversed herself and said her threats against the President and his family are not real. It is more like “revenge from the grave.”
Was she trying to dodge prosecution for grave threats, at the very least?
She added that she could think of no benefit to her if BBM is killed, contrary to the wishes she expressed when she encamped at her brother’s office the day her chief of staff was ordered detained for contempt.
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Things that can go the Duterte way if Bongbong Marcos is assassinated or is no longer president:
The vice president is the president’s spare tire under the Constitution. The most obvious benefit, of course, is that Sara Duterte will be president and head of state. Better still, she will wield power while running for the same position in 2028 as an incumbent, following the GMA model.
It is not mindless speculation that the warrants of arrest that everyone anticipates from the International Criminal Court will not be enforced by the local police against the principal accused, including her father.
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Once BBM is out, Sara gets to appoint the new Secretary of Justice who will likely shelve the current investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed while Duterte was waging his war on drugs, in violation of a local law — Republic Act 9851.
A waiver of bank secrecy laws will not be pursued, especially since it is being alleged that the VP is holding at least one account jointly with her father and its entries are not flattering politically — it allegedly contains deposits from drug-lord friends when Rodrigo Duterte was Davao City mayor.
She then gets to appoint the successor to Ombudsman Samuel Martires who will complete his seven-year term in July next year.
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What of the ongoing investigation into how confidential funds totaling hundreds of millions of pesos were actually spent by the Office of the Vice President?
Public relations efforts are urgent in the context of an actual plunder charge looming in the horizon against the VP, her special disbursement officer, and other members of her staff who might have anything to do with the withdrawal and disbursement of those funds.
Bail is not normally recommended for those charged with capital offenses like plunder. Only the President is traditionally accorded immunity from suit while in office.
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The legal question is: May an impeachable officer like the VP be ordered detained by a trial court hearing her case while trial is pending?
Will that defeat her right not to be removed from office except by impeachment? Or will she still be considered a holder of the office while in detention, in consonance with the principle that an accused is presumed innocent until convicted?
Leila de Lima continued to function as a legislator although she was not physically present in the sessions of the Senate. However, she was not an impeachable officer unlike the VP. The next episodes in this unfolding drama are worth watching./WDJ