Bong Go Questions Timing of VP Sara Duterte's Arrest Warrant

Senator Christopher Bong Go on Friday questioned the timing of the issuance of the arrest warrant against Vice President Sara Duterte over her grave threats case. Go, a known ally of the Duterte family, asked why the arrest warrant was only issued now, coinciding with the impeachment trial of the Vice President. “Nagtataka lang po ako sa timing. ‘Yung timing ang pinagtataka natin,” he said in an ambush interview at the Senate. (I’m just wondering about the timing. The timing is what I’m curious about.) “Bakit ngayon? Bakit ngayon ‘yung panahon na ongoing ‘yung impeachment? Daming panahon pa noon eh, even before the impeachment. Even before the impeachment, pwede namang mai-file ‘yan. Bakit ngayon ‘yung timing, talagang nagkatugma? Ang tagal na noon,” he added. (Why only now? Why was it only issued now when the impeachment is ongoing? There was a lot of time before. Even before the impeachment, that could have been filed. Why is the timing now, coinciding with the trial? That happened a long time ago.) Regardless, Go expressed belief that Duterte will be able to overcome the challenges. “Sanay naman po ‘yun si Vice President sa mga ganong sitwasyon. Ongoing nga po ‘yung impeachment eh. She can handle. I believe, kaya niya po po ‘yun,” he said. (The Vice President is used to such situations. The impeachment is even ongoing. She can handle it. I believe she can do it.) Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, was mum on the matter, saying he has to look into it first. Asked if the arrest warrant has any effect with the impeachment trial, he said, “I would have to study it. Pasensya na, katatapos ko lang dito [sa hearing]. Tignan ko muna.” (I would have to study it. Sorry, I just finished with the hearing. I'll look at it first.) Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, Duterte’s counsel for the grave threats cases, announced Friday afternoon that a Quezon City regional trial court has issued a warrant of arrest against the Vice President. The Department of Justice (DOJ) also confirmed the information. In early August, the DOJ filed three counts of grave threats against Duterte over her remarks that she hired an individual to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez, should an alleged plot against her succeed. Prosecutors recommended the bail to be set at P120,000 per count. Following this, Duterte filed a motion to quash on the ground of jurisdiction, arguing that she and other impeachable officers have limited procedural immunity while in office under the 1987 Constitution. Duterte’s alleged grave threats against the President is also the basis of one of the Articles of Impeachment against her in the ongoing trial before the Senate impeachment court. — RSJ, GMA News