DOJ to conduct legal study on VP Sara’s remarks about Marcos remains

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) will conduct a legal study to assess whether Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent remarks about exhuming former President Ferdinand Marcos’ remains and dumping them at sea violated any laws.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla expressed concern over the comments, stating they could be considered disrespectful to the deceased, disruptive to the peace of Marcos’ final resting place, and potentially violate moral principles.

“There are many approaches to this, but it desecrates the memory of a person, it desecrates the peaceful state that he must be in, having already perished, and it disturbed the body. And there are many other moral principles that are being violated, and we’re looking at the legal aspects also. We’re conducting a study,” Remulla said.

Remulla described Duterte’s remarks, made during a recent press briefing, as “very disturbing” and inappropriate for someone of her rank, deeming the statement unbecoming of the country’s second-highest official.

The controversy arose after Duterte reportedly threatened to exhume the late dictator’s remains and throw them into the West Philippine Sea if the Marcos family continued to criticize her. She revealed that she had made the threat to Senator Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, during a group chat. “If you don’t stop, I will dig up your father’s grave and throw him into the WPS,” Duterte said during the interview.