Prosecutor sought security after alleged threats from VP Sara Duterte

House prosecutor Joel Chua stated on Monday that he enhanced his security detail due to perceived threats following controversial remarks made by Vice President Sara Duterte in November 2024. Chua expressed genuine fear for his safety, emphasizing that the statements came from the country's second-highest official. Speaking to reporters after the fourth day of Duterte's impeachment trial, Chua said, "At that time, it was only natural for me to feel afraid because those words were not uttered by an ordinary person, but by the country's second-highest official." He recounted feeling genuinely threatened when the Vice President publicly mentioned his name during a late-night online press conference, which is the subject of the fourth article of impeachment. Chua confirmed that he did not have security at the time but arranged for it afterward, stating, "I didn't have security at the time, but because of that, I arranged for security. These are not words that can simply be brushed aside." Chua made the remarks after National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Jeremy Lotoc testified before the Senate impeachment court that investigators considered Duterte's statements "real and serious" and concluded that she had the intent, motive, and capability to carry out the alleged threats. During the same late-night online press conference in November 2024, Duterte supposedly singled out Chua, who chaired the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability that was then investigating the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President. "Di mo pala gusto ginagawa mo eh bakit mo sinisira pangalan ko, Joel Chua?" (If you don't even like what you're doing, then why are you ruining my name, Joel Chua?) The same press conference also included Duterte's alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez, which later became the basis for the fourth article of impeachment against her. Asked whether Lotoc's testimony bolstered the prosecution's argument regarding Duterte's capability to carry out the alleged threats, Chua pointed to the history surrounding the Duterte family. "Alam naman natin ang history ng kanilang pamilya. In fact, nasaan ba ngayon ang kanyang ama? Ano ba ang kasong kinakaharap ng kanyang ama? EJK," Chua said, referring to former President Rodrigo Duterte. (We all know the history of their family. In fact, where is her father now? What case is he facing? Extrajudicial killings.) "So alam din naman natin ang itinatawag nilang Davao Death Squad. Lahat ito may kinalaman sa kung ano man ang kapasidad nila para gampanan o gawin ang mga banta." (We also know about what they call the Davao Death Squad. All of these are relevant to whatever capability they may have to carry out or act on those threats.) Chua stressed that the alleged threats should not be dismissed as ordinary remarks because they were directed at the President. "Ito ay hindi lang masasabi nating ordinaryong grave threat. Ito ay binitawan ng pangalawa sa pinakamataas na opisyal ng ating bansa against sa Pangulo. So ito ay pagbabanta sa head of state," he said. (This utterance cannot simply be considered an ordinary grave threat. It was made by the country's second-highest official against the President. It is a threat against the head of state.) He also rejected arguments that Duterte's remarks were merely conditional statements. "Maliwanag na maliwanag… wala namang tinatawag na conditional threat… threat is a threat," Chua said. (It's very clear... there is no such thing as a conditional threat. A threat is a threat.) He cited a case during the Duterte administration in which an individual was arrested for allegedly threatening the President despite supposedly lacking the means to carry out the threat. "The issue here is the threat itself," Chua added. Source: GMA News Philippines