THE House prosecution panel dismissed the alleged “Oplan Romanov” invoked by the defense team of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, describing it as a mere figment of the defense’s imagination with no factual basis.
Prosecution spokesperson Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. said the alleged Oplan Romanov was something that was only brought up by the lawyers of the vice president, with no details or proof to substantiate its veracity.
“Maliwanag na walang kahit na anong ebidensya na mailalapag dito sa paglilitis na ito na mapapatunayan ito in any way. It just remains an allegation. At the end of the day, it seems that by raising this matter, it seems that they’re trying to justify the threat by raising this,” Tolosa said.
As far as the prosecution is concerned, the more important question that should be answered with regard to the matter is if it was proper for the vice president to issue threats to kill the President just because she felt her family’s lives were in danger.
House prosecutor Ysabel Maria Zamora of San Juan City said the Oplan Romanov issue has only brought confusion to the panel since it was not based on any concrete evidence.
“Litong lito kami sa Romanov na ‘yan e. Tignan na lang natin ang pagkakakilanlan sa ating President, sa kanyang pamilya, I don’t think that anyone would think that these words relating to assassination, massacre, all of that would come from the first family. Kathang isip ito ng kabilang partido dahil wala naman napatunayan na may ganoong ng plot sa kanila,” Zamora said.
Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega of La Union said the threats issued by the Vice President should not be taken lightly, especially since these were made against the President, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
“Hindi biro ‘yang ganyan. It’s a grave crime. Yung conditional threat naman kasi palusot lang ‘yan ng nag grave threats. Yang ganyang mga bagay hindi maliit na bagay na hindi mo na lang papansinin. That’s a threat to the highest official of the land,” Ortega said.
During the first week of the impeachment trial of the Vice President, National Bureau of Investigation senior agent John Mark Calilung, who was presented as the prosecution’s first witness, stated that the threats made by Duterte against the President were “absolute.”
Calilung authenticated the videos of the vice president where she uttered the threats against the President.
