A HOUSE prosecutor supported the possibility of a Supreme Court (SC) inquiry into Vice President Sara Duterte’s statements about the judiciary, saying the Court may appropriately examine the matter if it chooses to act on its own initiative.
Duterte made the remarks on Saturday, September 5, outside the Quezon City Hall of Justice before entering the premises to post bail in connection with her grave-threats case. In a statement to reporters and her legal team, she said she had lost trust in the courts, the police, and even her own security personnel, citing concerns over her safety.
She later posted ₱360,000 bail for three counts of grave threats before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, Branch 98, which lifted the arrest warrant. The charges concern her November 2024 statements about having President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if she were killed. Duterte has denied the allegations.
In an ambush interview, House prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua of Manila said he supports the initiation of a court inquiry on the vice president’s remarks.
“Mas maganda. Kasi ang Korte natin mismo ang kanyang binastos. So dapat bilang officer of the court, dapat imbestigahan siya. Motu-proprio. Kung pwede,” the prosecutor said.
In a separate press conference at the House on Wednesday, Chua had said Duterte’s conduct deserved attention given her responsibilities as vice president and as a lawyer. “Kaya dapat tingnan kung ito ay subject for disbarment.”
Chua described what he saw as repeated disrespect toward the courts and said statements that harmed the judiciary’s image set a poor example coming from a lawyer holding high public office.
“Kung yung mga ordinaryong abogado nga na-didisbar, e yun pa kayang mga diretsang sinasabi o diretsang nambabastos sa ating mga korte,” he said.
Asked about the seriousness of Duterte’s statement that she did not trust the court, Chua said she had not limited her criticism to a particular court. He viewed it as a statement extending to the highest levels of the judiciary.
“Wala naman siya, hindi naman niya ki-nualify ito. Ito ay isang sweeping statement para sa lahat. So ibig sabihin hanggang sa pinakamataas ay wala siyang tiwala. So napakabigat ito.”
A reporter also asked about Duterte’s treatment of a sheriff in 2011 whom she punched while serving as Davao City mayor. Chua said the sheriff was carrying out a court order and should not have been attacked for performing his duties.
“Dapat nga doon pa lang, nung nanapak siya ng sheriff, na empleyado ng korte, dapat doon pa lang, inimbestigahan na siya, o at least binigyan siya ng sanction,” he said.
Chua emphasized that implementing court orders was part of a sheriff’s job, regardless of the reasons given for opposing those orders. “So, hindi ka dapat tinatrato ng ganon ng kahit na sino, lalong-lalo pa ng isang abogado na opisyal ng korte.”
On whether Duterte’s distrust of Philippine courts could be reconciled with her camp’s earlier argument that her father should face proceedings locally instead of in The Hague, Chua remarked, “Ayun na nga e. Very inconsistent yung mga sinasabi nila. Dati nung dinadampot yung kanilang ama sinasabi nila na may korte tayo dito. Tapos ngayon sasabihin nila na wala silang tiwala sa korte. So, ano ba talaga ate?”
metrosundaily
