Vice President Sara Duterte attends the attends the House quad committee hearing on the extrajudicial killings, addressing alleged human rights violations from her father former president Rodrigo Duterte administration’s war on drugs on November 13, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN NewsMANILA -- Vice President Sara Duterte's kill plan against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and her repeated cursing in an online press conference are grounds for disbarment from legal practice, a former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines said on Sunday.

Duterte earlier said that she has contracted someone to make sure that Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez would be assassinated should an alleged kill plot against her succeed.

"It might amount to a violation of Canon 1 ng aming propesyon na a lawyer shall uphold the constitution, obey the laws of the land and promote respect for law and legal processes," former IBP President Domingo Egon Cayoso said in a radio interview.

"Kung ikaw ay mangongontrata ng isang tao o isang grupo na papatay kung may mangyari sa iyo, hindi naman yan respect for law and legal processes so that is a very unethical legal conduct," he said.

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Duterte also violated the law when she said that she is the legal representative of her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez as lawyers are barred from practicing their profession while holding a public office, Cayosa said.

Either the Supreme Court of the IBP can start investigations into Duterte's conduct even without the filing of formal complaints against the vice president, he said.

"Unthinkable yung ganito e," he said, referring to Duterte's behavior over the weekend.

"It is contrary to law and legal processes. As a lawyer kung sa tingin mo naagrabyado ka, you file cases, but not resort to violence, to murder," he said.

"We pray that this is not a meltdown. Pagdasal natin. Maganda siguro na she consults a medical professional or a psychiatrist," he said.

While Duterte's recent pronouncements may be "careless" and born "out of frustration," the vice president's actions over the weekend were "deliberate," said Arjan Aguirre, a political science professor from the Ateneo de Manila University.

"Itong drama na nangyayari na ito, part ng kanilang script… Hindi ito spontaneous, hindi ito organic," Aguirre told ABS-CBN News.

"They know what they are doing and they have an intention to produce an outcome na pabor sa kanila… Mayroon siyang effort na protektahan yung kaniyang panagalan, sarili, position bilang vice president," he said.

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But Duterte may have been taking a page from the playbook of her tough-talking father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, but "miscalculated" the political landscape, Aguirre said.

"I think she is trying to follow the lead of the father pero iba na ang conditions, hindi na nila dominated ang institutions… kaya lumabas na very frustrated si Sara kasi hindi niya nagagawa yung gusto niya," the political science professor said.

"This is obviously a political blunder on the part of Sara Duterte."

Hours after her outburst on social media, Duterte seemingly backtracked on her kill plot, saying that she only wanted to highlight that there is a threat against her life.

But experts said it may be too late for Duterte to simply brush off her statements against the President.

"It's very typical sa side ng mga Duterte to do that… magbaback track after sabihin isang bagay, part ng script nila yan na pag hindi umubra, babawiin nila," Aguirre said.

"She cannot deny it. Hindi niya puwede ma-deny ito. Hindi ito gawa gawa lang at hindi ito subject for interpretation," he said.

Cayosa underscored that it was the Vice President herself who repeatedly said that she was not joking.

"Hindi puwedeng you cross a red line then later sasabihin, hindi, joke joke lang yan," the former IBP president said.

"Siya na mismo ang nagsabi na hindi ito joke, seryoso ito. We have to believe her."

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