Vice President Sara Duterte said she has reached a point where she is “just waiting” for the administration to have her arrested, stressing that she is prepared for any case that may be filed against her.
Speaking to reporters during the Office of the Vice President’s 90th anniversary celebration at the Makati Shangri-La on Friday, Duterte said her support for upcoming anti-corruption protests has prompted questions about whether she fears legal retaliation.
“Honestly, to tell the truth, I’m just waiting for when they’ll put me in jail,” she said, explaining that despite repeated efforts, “they still can’t figure out a strategy to put me in jail, because they really have no evidence of any wrongdoing on my part.”
Her remarks come as the Office of the Ombudsman reviews complaints involving confidential funds previously allocated to both the OVP and the Department of Education during her tenure. Duterte, however, insisted she is unfazed by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla or any complaints that may follow.
“I’m not afraid because I am already prepared for whatever might happen to me,” she said.
Duterte also warned that the administration is increasingly using sedition cases to silence critics. She cited the criminal complaint recently filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group against Cavite Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga following violent incidents at the Sept. 21 anti-corruption rallies.
“Inciting to sedition is what they’re using as a threat, and what I want to say is that the administration shouldn’t be too thin-skinned, because dissent is an essential aspect of democracy and good governance, and you cannot suppress it,” she said. She added that citizens’ right “to speak their thoughts and feelings” must be respected even when their views oppose the government.
The Vice President is facing her own sedition and grave threats complaints over a November 2024 online press conference, where she admitted asking someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were harmed.
The use of criminal charges against government critics is not new. During the administration of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, then-senator and now Mamamayang Liberal party-list representative Leila de Lima was arrested on drug-related accusations and jailed for nearly six years before the cases were dismissed. Human rights groups widely viewed her detention as politically motivated.
