House prosecution Spokesperson and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said they believe Vice President Sara Duterte when she declared that she had contracted the services of an assassin, and it is the defense panel who does not agree with their client.
“Alam mo, sa amin sa prosekusyon, 100 percent, nag-aagree kami kay VP Sara. Ang hindi nag-aagree sa kanya, ang kanyang depensa. Kaya no’ng sinabi niya na may assassin, paniwalang-paniwala kami. Ang depensa, ayaw po nila maniwala,” Adiong told reporters during a Wednesday press conference.
Private prosecutor Atty. Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa said it was “extremely clear” that there was a killer contracted, by virtue of Duterte’s own admission, even if it goes against her interests.
“Napakaliwanag po ng sagot dito: mayroon. Anong basehan natin? Tulad ng sinabi po ng Atty. (Jeremy) Lotoc, narinig natin pare-pareho ang Bise Presidente ang umamin dito. Ang explanation ni Atty. Lotoc, this is what you call ‘admission against interest.’ Sa Rules on Evidence natin, ‘yan po ay isa sa pinakamatibay na klase ng ebidensya dahil nanggaling na ho mismo doon sa tao,” Tolosa said.
The lawyer further explained that this was powerful evidence as any rational person would refrain from utterances that would be detrimental to their interests.
In addition, he pointed out that she had the chance to retract her statement but instead chose to “double down” and justify it.
“Hindi lang ho ‘yang minsan sinabi, alalahanin natin, nagkaroon siya ng oportunidad na klaruhin ang sinabi niya. Three days after, bawiin ang sinabi, sabihin na nadala lang ng bugso ng damdamin,” Tolosa recounted.
“Pero three days after, mas kalmado na siya—so it can’t be said that it’s just a spur of the moment thing—pero ano pong ginawa niya? Hindi niya binawi, kinonfirm niya. She doubled down and tried to justify what she did by saying ‘Revenge from the grave is not a criminal act,” he said.
Following her expletive-laden video wherein she threatened the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Louise "Liza" Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Vice President Duterte and her camp emphasized that this threat was “conditional,” or to be triggered only if Duterte was assassinated first.
“I already asked a person to take revenge against two, three individuals. So my question now to the administration: is revenge from the grave a crime?” she said publicly.
