Ex-pres. Duterte on QC prosecutor's subpoena: 'I'd rather go to jail'
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
Former president Rodrigo Duterte would likely face a Quezon City prosecutor’s office that summoned him to answer the grave threats complaint filed against him by ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro.
(From left) Former president Rodrigo Duterte and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (PPAB, Malacañang photo)
“Magpakulong na lang ako. Ino-oppress ako ni France (I would rather go to jail. I am being oppressed by France),” he said on SMNI’s “Gikan Sa Masa, Para sa Masa” on late Wednesday night, Nov. 15.
This came after Quezon City Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Ulric Badiola issued a subpoena ordering the former president to appear before the Office of the Prosecutor on Dec. 4 and 11 at 2:30 p.m.
This is the first subpoena issued against Duterte since stepping down from office in 2022.
The prosecutor’s office, which also said that no motion to dismiss will be entertained, ordered Duterte to submit a counter-affidavit and affidavit/s of his witnesses.
Castro, a member of the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives and a minority leader, sued the former chief executive for the death threats he made during an interview in early October in the same SMNI show.
The threats came in connection to Castro’s questioning of Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds, which have been since scrapped and realigned by the House of Representatives.
During the interview on Wednesday, Duterte once again red-tagged the lawmaker by linking her to the Communist Party of the Philippines.
“Sumingit sila sa mainstream, mga rebelde yan eh. Gusto nila sirain ang Pilipinas. Baliktarin nila kasi gusto nila magkomunista iyong partido nilang ideolohiya gaya ng China noon pati Russia (They became mainstream, but they are rebels. They want to destroy the Philippines. They want their communist ideologies like China before and Russia),” the former president, who maintains close relationship with China, added.
He lamented that the government made a mistake in allowing party-list groups to be members of Congress.
“Nakapasok tuloy itong mga komunista. Iyan ang problema (These communists were able to infiltrate. That’s the problem),” he said.