Reps: Rodrigo Duterte’s threats to kill not aligned with Filipino values

Former President Rodrigo Duterte speaks on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, at the proclamation rally for the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) senatorial candidates. —File photo by Noy Morcoso | INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s repeated threats of violence do not reflect Filipino values, two lawmakers from the House of Representatives said on Sunday.

The lawmakers made the remark after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. criticized Duterte for believing that killing Filipinos was the only solution to every problem.

Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V (La Union 1st District) denounced Duterte’s rhetoric, saying both the former president and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, often resort to intimidation.

“That’s how former President Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, are. They like making threats,” Ortega said in Filipino in a statement.

“That is not Filipino behavior. We Filipinos don’t do that because it is wrong,” he added.

Meanwhile, House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun (Zambales 1st District) questioned whether the former president sees himself as above the law, citing his repeated threats of assassination.

“Father and daughter are the same. Maybe former President Duterte should also be charged for making threats, just like how the National Bureau of Investigation filed a complaint against VP Sara Duterte,” Khonghun said in Filipino in a statement.

On Wednesday, February 12, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed complaints of sedition and grave threats against Vice President Sara Duterte for stating in a live-streamed press conference that, in case she would be killed, she had already hired someone to assassinate Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Khonghun said this should serve as a warning: “The case against the vice president sends the message that under this government, no one is above the law.”

During a campaign rally in Davao del Norte on Friday, Marcos took aim at his predecessor’s rhetoric, referencing a statement about killing 15 senators.

“We just heard about it the other day. Maybe they have lost hope [of winning the elections]. That’s why they’ll just have to kill 15 senators,” Marcos said in his campaign speech.

“But then again, the problem really with this person [is that] the only solution he has [for] every problem is to kill a Filipino,” he said.

Ortega and Khongkun expressed that Marcos was “spot on in assessing the fear of a defeat by the Duterte camp,” which they said pushed the former president into resorting to threats and negative campaigning.

“They can already see their defeat in the May 12 elections. That’s why the former president is resorting to intimidation and negative campaigning,” Ortega said.

Khonghun further dismissed the former president’s remarks as ineffective campaign tactics.

“Team China’s ticket is weak, while Team Pilipinas is strong,” he said, referring to the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial slate.