MANILA: A Philippine prosecutor has summoned former president Rodrigo Duterte to respond to an accusation that he threatened to kill a Filipino congresswoman.
The subpoena — dated October 27 but released to the media on Wednesday — is part of an initial investigation into a criminal complaint filed by House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader France Castro.
Castro alleged Duterte committed the crime of “grave threats” under the Cybercrime Prevention Act during an October 10 interview with local broadcaster SMNI.
Duterte gave on-air advice to his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, about how she could use intelligence and confidential funds allocated to her office and the education department, which she also heads.
“Your first target with your intelligence fund is you, you France. ‘Tell her, it is you communists who I want to kill,’” Duterte said in the interview that was reshared thousands of times on Facebook. It was later deleted from SMNI’s Facebook page.
In her complaint, Castro said Duterte’s threats were “factually baseless and clearly malicious,” but she could not dismiss them as “figurative, joking, or otherwise benign.”
The subpoena ordered Duterte and Castro to appear at the prosecutor’s office on December 4 and December 11 to present witnesses and supporting documents.
The prosecutor will then decide if there is enough evidence to charge Duterte in court.
Duterte was protected from prosecution when he was president, but now that he is an ordinary citizen he can be charged for alleged crimes committed in the Philippines.
His former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said that Duterte had been “ignoring” Castro’s criminal complaint.
“He can waive his right to preliminary investigation if he wants,” Panelo said, adding that Castro was only after publicity.
He said Duterte’s comments about Castro were not a death threat, but “just an expression of desire.”
Duterte often threatened to kill people, including drug dealers and rights activists, when he was president from 2016 to 2022.
He also frequently labelled critics as communist sympathizers — a practice known as “red-tagging,” which can result in the arrest, detention or even death of the person targeted.
His signature policy was an anti-drug campaign that killed thousands of people and triggered an international investigation into an alleged crime against humanity.
Philippine prosecutor summons former president Duterte over death threat
https://arab.news/b78pb
Philippine prosecutor summons former president Duterte over death threat
- Subpoena part of an initial investigation into a criminal complaint filed by leftist congresswoman
Russia says two crew members from US-seized tanker released
- “Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” Zakharova said
- Russia announced earlier this month that the US had decided to release the Russian duo
MOSCOW: Moscow said Wednesday two Russian crew members of a tanker seized this month by the United States in the Atlantic had been released and were on their way home.
US authorities took over the Russian-flagged vessel earlier this month, alleging it was part of a shadow fleet carrying oil from countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
The United States said publicly that the Marinera’s crew could be prosecuted. Russia said that would be “categorically unacceptable” and accused Washington of stoking tensions and threatening international shipping.
“Two Russian sailors have been released and are on their way home to Russia,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency on Wednesday.
Russia announced earlier this month that the United States had decided to release the two Russian crew members, but last week its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the decision had not yet been implemented.
The captain and the first officer of the tanker have left UK waters, Solicitor General for Scotland, Ruth Charteris told a court hearing Tuesday, Press Association news agency reported.
“The captain and the first officer are now aboard the US Coast Guard vessel Munro and have departed the United Kingdom’s territorial sea,” Charteris said.
Twenty-six of the 28 crew have left the ship, officials told AFP. They were processed at a military site in Inverness, Scotland, the court was told, according to Press Association.
Five wanted to travel to the United States and 21 elsewhere. None have claimed asylum, the court heard.
“At the request of the US authorities, crew members have been allowed to disembark for onwards travel,” a UK government spokesperson told AFP Wednesday.
“They will be processed in line with all appropriate immigration and legal requirements.”
Britain was not involved in the movement of the other two crew members, the government said.
The United States seized the tanker, previously known as Bella 1, which was being escorted by the Russian navy, after chasing it from near the Venezuelan coast.
It was re-flagged and re-named to bring it under Russian jurisdiction in a bid to discourage the United States from trying to take it as part of its campaign against Venezuela.
