THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should probe former President Rodrigo R. Duterte for his remarks suggesting the killing of sitting senators to give way for his political party’s senatorial candidates, a congressman said on Sunday.
Mr. Duterte last week quipped about killing incumbent senators so the senatorial slate of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, which he chairs, could secure seats in the chamber. Only two of his party’s senatorial candidates are projected to win the senatorial race, according to a February Octa Research survey.
Partido Demokratiko Pilipino did not immediately respond to a Facebook and Viber message seeking comment.
“Words have power — especially when they come from someone who has held the highest office in the land,” Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said in a statement.
“If certain statements warrant legal scrutiny, it is imperative that all similar declarations be assessed fairly and consistently,” he added.
Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of Mr. Duterte, already faces possible legal trouble for statements last year, when she allegedly threatened to have President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., his wife, and the House of Representatives Speaker assassinated.
The NBI last week filed a complaint for inciting sedition and grave threats against Ms. Duterte, sending its findings to the Department of Justice’s Office of the Prosecutor General after a two-month investigation.
“They are indeed father and daughter. Maybe Mr. Duterte should also be sued for his threats,” Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V said in a separate statement.
The Office of the Vice-President did not immediately respond to an e-mail and Viber message seeking comment.
Mr. Adiong urged state investigators to check whether Mr. Duterte’s remarks could “fall under existing legal provisions.”
“If making a bomb joke is illegal and punishable by law, then threatening to kill 15 senators should definitely be as well,” he said in Filipino.
“We have seen before how rhetoric like this can embolden individuals to take matters into their own hands, often with tragic consequences. When public figures normalize threats of violence, they create a dangerous environment where words can translate into real harm,” he added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
