Marcos challenges VP Duterte: You cannot ‘tokhang’ the truth 

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a recorded statement on Monday, November 25, called on his erstwhile ally Vice President Sara Duterte to answer the House’s questions on how her offices spent public funds instead of resorting to “distractions” and “force” in trying to “change the story.”

“Nakakabahala ang mga pahayag na narinig natin nitong mga nakaraang araw. Nandiyan ang walang pakundangang pagmumura at ang pagbabanta ng planong ipapatay ang ilan sa atin. Kung ganun na lang kadali ang pagplano sa pagpatay ng isang Presidente, papaano pa kaya ang mga pangkaraniwan na mamamayan? Yang ganyang krimimal na pagtatangka ay hindi dapat pinapalampas. Yan ay aking papalagan,” said Marcos, days after Duterte, in a hastily-organized early morning Zoom call, claimed she had spoken to someone who had agreed to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she herself be killed.

(The statements we’ve heard the past few days are disturbing. There’s the non-stop cursing and the threats to kill. If it’s that easy to plan to kill the President, what more the average Filipino? That sort of criminal attempt cannot be allowed to happen. I will fight that.)

Marcos, son and namesake of the late dictator, added: “As a democratic country, we need to uphold the rule of law.”

“Ako, bilang pinuno ng executive department, at lahat ng mga nanunungkulan sa pamahalaan, ay may sinumpaang tungkulin na tutupdin at pangangalagaan ang Konstitusyon at ating mga batas. Kaya hindi tama ang pagpigil ng mga halal ng bayan sa paghahanap ng katotohanan. Hindi na sana hahantong sa ganitong drama kung sasagutin lang sana ang mga lehitimong katanungan sa Senado at House of Representatives,” he said.

(I, as head of the executive department and all those who serve in goverment, have a sworn duty to follow and uphold the Constitution. It is not right for elected officials to impede the search for the truth. This sort of drama would not have happened if only the legitimate questions of the Senate and House were answered.)

“Ang katotohanan ay hindi dapat i-tokhang,” he added, referring to bloody police operations under the Vice President’s father and Marcos’ immediate predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Tokhang, a portmanteau of the Bisaya words “toktok” (to knock) and “hangyo” (to request), was on paper a program meant to convince drug addicts to change their ways. But in the six years of Duterte, tokhang turned into a colloquial term referring to death at the hands of the police or hired guns.

Duterte made the threat — and a whole range of allegations — as her chief aide, Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief-of-staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez was placed under House detention after a panel tackling the alleged misuse of OVP and education department cited her in contempt and ordered her detention. Duterte spent the night at the Batasang Pambansa or the House compound, where Lopez was being detained.

House security opposed her extended stay, particularly when Duterte decided to spend the night inside the office of her brother, who is a member of the House. Lopez was then ordered transferred to a correctional facility in Mandaluyong, which apparently caused the lawyer and long-time Duterte aide to have a panic attack.

Chaos ensued as Duterte and House officials went head-to-head in attempts to transfer Lopez to a hospital. From the privately-run St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, Lopez was moved to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, where she is still confined as of November 25, even as the House panel resumed its probe.

Amid the drama, Duterte has, thus far, refused to directly answer the supposed red flags that legislators and even the Commission on Audit earlier raised over how she spent her intelligence and confidential funds.

Marcos referenced this in his statement. “Sa kabila ng mga pambabatikos, nakatuon ang aking pansin sa pamamahala. Ngunit hindi natin iko-kompromiso ang Rule of Law. Kailangan manaig ang batas sa anumang sitwasyon, sinuman ang tamaan. Kaya hindi ko hahayaang mag tagumpay ang hangarin ng iba na hatakin ang buong bansa sa burak ng pulitika. Igalang natin ang proseso. Tuparin natin ang batas. Alalahanin natin ang mandato na pinagkatiwala sa atin ng milyong-milyon na Pilipino,” he said.

(Despite the attacks, we are focused on governance. But we will not compromise the rule of law. The law must prevail, no matter the situation and no matter who it covers. I will not allow others to prevail in their goal to drag down the entire country in the mire of politics. Let us respect the process. Let us follow the law. Let us recall the mandate given to us by millions of Filipinos.)

Marcos and Duterte ran under the same “Uniteam” banner in the 2022 elections. The coalition represented not only the coming together of the two political clans, but an alliance of most of the country’s biggest political parties and personalities.

The coalition has since all but crumbled — triggered explicitly when Duterte resigned as education secretary and left the Marcos Cabinet. – Rappler.com