Presidential Press Officer Claire Castro pushed back on Friday against accusations from Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte that the Marcos administration is turning the legal system into a tool against its critics. She framed the government’s actions as nothing more than the enforcement of laws already on the books, tied to principles of transparency and accountability.
Castro posed a pointed question to those alleging persecution: “Do they want the government to do nothing, disregard the law, and allow those accused of committing crimes against the nation to escape accountability?” Rather than leveling attacks at Malacañang, she said, the Duterte camp—Vice President Sara Duterte in particular—should confront the accusations placed before them.
The mayor had made his remarks while addressing Filipino vloggers in The Hague, Netherlands, arguing that the administration was bending both the law and the machinery of government to penalize those who dissent. As evidence, he pointed to the arrests of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and former Quezon City representative Mike Defensor. “They are the ones in power. Whoever does not follow them or refuses to do so will surely be punished,” he said.
According to Castro, the vice president’s allies have consistently sidestepped the actual substance of the charges. She questioned whether the public had ever heard a direct denial from the vice president herself: “Have they heard the VICE PRESIDENT deny the allegations involving the misuse of public funds or her admission that she spoke to someone she described as a killer to carry out a killing?”
That admission traces back to a statement the vice president has characterized as “conditional”—an instruction she said she gave for someone to kill President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez if an alleged plot against her were to succeed. She has maintained the comments were stripped of their context.
The vice president now faces trial before the Senate, convened as an impeachment court following her impeachment by the House of Representatives earlier this year. The articles against her span culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and the alleged misuse of confidential funds. She has rejected every accusation and cast the proceedings as politically driven.
Castro also drew a contrast with the mayor’s own conduct, alluding to his reported clash with court personnel carrying out judicial orders connected to his father. Genuine abuse of power, she argued, looks like striking a sheriff who was simply doing his job—not applying the law as it is written.
