TURNING POINT: A Dramatic Meltdown

NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 27 Nov) – Indeed, whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make them crazy.

Sara Duterte’s humongous sense of invincibility and invulnerability turns her into a mad cow, whose mouth is foaming with unfounded accusations and whose head is filled with criminal plots. The paranoid VP, publicly announced that, in case she is killed, she has an assassin team that is ready to exterminate the First Family and the Speaker of the House at her command.

The pronouncement is no less than a declaration of war against the established order.

Although conditional, it still constitutes a grave threat that was not taken lightly. So, the Presidential Security Guards have been augmented to protect the President and his family.

Sara, no question, has hitmen. She has been known as a killer since her time as mayor of Davao City. She is, in fact, one of the accused at the International Criminal Court for committing a crime against humanity. According to Arturo “Arthur” Lascañas, Sara is the “Pasimuno” or originator of the Davao Death Squad (DDS)

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is mounting a probe to determine the accountability of the VP for making the grave threat. A threat to a private person is a criminal offense. The penalties for grave threats range from arresto mayor (imprisonment of one month and one day to six months) to prisión correccional (imprisonment of six months and one day.) IF Sara is found guilty in the proper court, she will languish in jail for some time.

As a government official, a case may be filed against her, too, with the Ombudsman. And for unprofessional behavior as a lawyer, she could be subject to disbarment.

She could, likewise, be charged with sedition, for betraying public trust, a crime that may end her political career.

Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday (November 26) asserted that her statement about killing President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. was taken out of context, explaining that the “revenge” plot has a specific condition before it could be put into motion: that she has to die first.

Thus, her murderous rants were nothing but to divert attention from her plunder of Confidential Funds. She is not a posit queen for nothing. The ejected ink may, however, suffocate her.

At the House, both the Majority and Minority leaders criticized Duterte’s actions.

“The people deserve to know the full extent of this (assassination) plot, including any potential abuse of power, or betrayal of public trust. The integrity of our democracy demands nothing less,” House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe said.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental.)