MANILA — In a streamed conference held on Saturday evening, former Marcos administration press secretary Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles parried criticism of Vice President Sara Duterte for presenting herself as chief of staff Zuleika Lopez's lawyer and for remarks that the Palace and the Presidential Security Command said are serious threats to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

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Angeles, former press secretary to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., dismissed government response to Duterte's comments about contracting a hitman to go after the Marcoses and Speaker Martin Romualdez in case she is killed as “baseless and sensationalized”, saying it was a “hyperbolic” remark blown out of proportion by media outlets.

Media quoted Duterte's remarks from a livestreamed conference, a copy of which is found below.

'HYPERBOLIC STATEMENT' 

“Sinasabi nila na si VP Inday daw ay nag-threaten, o medyo seryosong akusasyon ‘yan lalong-lalo na kung ang pinagbabantaan ay ang pinakamataas na opisyal ng Pilipinas. Ito ang tanong, nasaan sa facts dun yung pagbabanta diretso sa Pangulo?" Angeles said.

(They are saying that VP Inday made threats. That is a rather serious accusation especially if you are threatening the highest official of the Philippines. Here's the question: Where are the facts of the direct threat to the President?)

Angeles said that what Duterte said was "an example of a hyperbolic statement", arguing that the only way for the remarks to lead to a criminal offense is if "the person being threatened is no longer on this Earth."

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“Nakikita natin na wala pong basehan. Nakikita natin na sine-sensationalize itong mga statements ng ating Bise Presidente upang makahanap ng maipaparatang sa kanya.” 

(We can see that there is no basis. We can see that they are sensationalizing the statements of our Vice President to find something to accuse her of)

The National Bureau of Investigation in 2020 arrested without warrant a school teacher who had allegedly posted on social media an offer of P50 million for someone to kill then President Rodrigo Duterte.

The case was dismissed because of the illegal arrest and because the NBI could not show that the teacher was the person who actually made the post.

'NO PROHIBITION ON PROTECTING RIGHTS'

Angeles also responded to criticisms from Rep. Joel Chua, chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, who said Duterte acting as Lopez's lawyer may have violated constitutional restrictions.

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Angeles said the Constitution does not prohibit public officials from offering legal counsel, but it limits lawyers from representing clients in certain legal proceedings, such as appeals or court filings. 

“Pero bilang isang abogado, hindi po kami ipinagbabawal na ipagtanggol ang karapatan ng ibang tao kung tayo ang naiiwang nag-iisa sa vicinity,” Angeles said.

(But as lawyers, we are not barred from defending the rights of others if we are the only ones in the vicinity)

She called Chua's remarks shallow and not well thought out. 

"Wala pong practice of law in the ordinary sense or in the sense na pinagbabawal ng ating Saligang Batas. Malinaw po ‘yan."

(There was no practice of law in the ordinary sense or in the sense prohibited by the Constitution. That is clear)

'FOCUS ON GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION INSTEAD'

Angeles said the focus should be Duterte’s claims of widespread corruption within the government, which she said the Vice President has evidence of.

“Mas mahalaga na makita kung ano ang mga isinumbong ni VP Inday sa atin, sa taumbayan, ang mga gawain ng mga opsiyales ng gobyerno na malinaw na bukod sa nabibingihan yata tayo sa mainstream media, ay hindi pinapansin," she said.

(It is more important to look at what VP Inday is telling us, the people, about the practices of government officials that clearly the mainstream media is pretending not to hear or are ignoring)

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Duterte hinted at evidence of corruption but did not present these on the livestream.

'POLITICAL CRACKDOWN'

Meanwhile, former Palace undersecretary Lorraine Badoy-Partosa voiced her concernover what she said was an increasing political crackdown.

Badoy-Partosa, a self-described “Martial Law baby,” said she has observed the political climate becoming increasingly hostile.

Both Angeles and Badoy-Partosa were critical of the Martial Law era but changed their tune towards the 2022 elections. They have since become critics of the second Marcos administration.

Badoy-Partosa warned that the current political environment was beginning to mirror the authoritarian tactics of the Marcos dictatorship, and even the Vice President was not immune from the attack. 

“So, yung nakikita natin ngayon hindi ito bago. Nangyari na ito nung panahon ng tatay ni Bong Bong Marcos– yung pangingikil sa atin,” Badoy-Partosa said. 

(What I am seeing is not new. This already happened during the time of Bongbong Marcos' father, this suppression)

“The second most powerful person in the Philippines supposedly. The Vice President na 32 million ang bumoto. Historical levels ‘yun pero sinasangga nila…Ibig sabihin nito lahat tayo dito hindi na tayo safe. Puwede tayong kayan-kayanin,” she added.

(The second most powerful person in the Philippines, supposedly. The Vice President that 32 million voter for, that is a historical level, and that is who they are going against. That means none of us are safe. They can do what they want with us)

As Palace official and later as part of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and as a TV personality, Badoy-Partosa has equated activism with terrorism and criticism of and reporting on government policies with being a threat to the state.

Badoy-Partosa also criticized the mainstream media, claiming that it is prioritizing sensationalism and corporate interests over providing accurate and unbiased information.

“Ang mainstream media ay hindi nandito para mag-inform sa atin at bigyan tayo ng katotohanan. Tanggapin na natin na ang mainstream media ay nandito para sa ayenda ng kung sino man ang nagbibigay ng pera sa kanila.”

(Mainstream media is not here to inform us and give us the truth. Let's just accept that mainstream media is here for the agenda of whoever gives them money)