Why Sara Duterte’s Grave Threats Case Will Not Affect Her Impeachment Trial
SARA DUTERTE – Vice President Sara Duterte is facing two separate legal battles, but former Senate President Frank Drilon says one should not influence the other.
Former Senate President Frank Drilon maintained that the grave threats case filed against Vice President Sara Duterte will not affect the impeachment proceedings against her, emphasizing that the two cases are separate legal processes with different purposes.
In an interview with radio dwIZ, Drilon acknowledged that both proceedings involve Duterte’s controversial livestreamed remarks in which she claimed to have hired an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. However, he stressed that the case before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) is criminal in character, while impeachment is a political proceeding.
“As we have said, this impeachment trial is sui generis, a class of its own. It is not a court of law,” Drilon explained. “It is not a criminal case. It is a political process, a process provided for by the Constitution to hold accountable those who should be held accountable… The penalty here, if found guilty, is not imprisonment but removal from public office and perpetual disqualification from public office.”
Drilon also dismissed the argument that Duterte’s simultaneous proceedings could amount to double jeopardy. The alleged threats are included in Article IV of the impeachment complaint, for which prosecutors have already finished presenting evidence.
He explained that the RTC must determine guilt under the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt, while the impeachment court requires a two-thirds vote of all senators.
“Not all senators are lawyers. Therefore, they cannot act as judges in determining whether there is proof beyond reasonable doubt. What matters is what is in their conscience, and that is what will prevail,” he said.
Drilon expects the impeachment proceedings to conclude before the RTC case, as Senate President and impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero has indicated that the trial is expected to finish before the end of the year.
He also rejected speculation that the impeachment verdict would determine the outcome of the criminal case.
“The treatment or elements are different in the RTC and the impeachment court. So whether or not it will influence the judge is up to the court. It should not, but it is difficult to say because influence is a state of mind,” Drilon said. “That is a conclusion that has no basis.”
On Duterte’s claim that her statements were protected by freedom of expression, Drilon disagreed.
“We have a law that prohibits threatening another person by telling them, ‘I will kill you.’ That is punishable under our Revised Penal Code,” he said. “Freedom of speech under our Constitution has limitations. You cannot invoke freedom of speech to threaten the entire country.”
Duterte later posted bail at the Quezon City RTC. During the proceedings, she raised security concerns and invoked the memory of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
“Who will be at my back? Do you remember that Ninoy Aquino died on the stairs?” she said.
Meanwhile, House prosecutor Rep. Terry Ridon urged Duterte to face the case instead of creating what he called “drama.”
“Enough with the drama. There would be no grave threats case if not for the statements that became the basis for the case filed against you,” he said.
The August Twenty-One Movement also welcomed the arrest warrant as a “step in the right direction,” while expressing surprise over the development given its view that the country’s justice system has often favored the powerful.
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