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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Blunder? VP Duterte's hitman remark reinforces death threat allegation, says Ridon

Blunder? VP Duterte's hitman remark reinforces death threat allegation, says Ridon

Published Jul 31, 2026 10:44 am

At A Glance

  • Prosecutor Terry Ridon said Vice President Sara Duterte's remark about hiring a gunman for P5,000 strengthens article IV of the impeachment case, which covers her earlier death threats against President Marcos, the First Lady, and former Speaker Romualdez.
  • Ridon argued that Duterte's violent statements compromise her defense, noting that she is being prosecuted for threats while continuing to make similar remarks.
  • NBI witnesses testified that Duterte's threats were authentic and constituted "serious, actual, and real" dangers to the President and the First Family.


Did Vice President Sara Duterte just compromise her own case in her ongoing Senate impeachment trial?
This seems to be the case according to Bicol Saro Party-list Terry Ridon, following respondent Duterte's remarks wherein she claimed that a gunman or hitman could easily be hired in the country for P5,000.
Ridon, a prosecutor in the trial, says such comment bolsters article IV of the articles of impeachment against Duterte, which the prosecution just finished presenting in Senate impeachment court.
The article covered Duterte’s Nov. 23, 2024 statement wherein she said she had already contacted an assassin to kill President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the event she herself gets slain.
“Well, again, with respect, I think the Vice President has a violent mind,” Ridon said during a press conference Thursday, July 30.
“She’s being prosecuted today on threats. The last thing I think any person being investigated on threats would do would be to talk about threats,” noted the lawyer-solon.
Ridon was referring to Duterte’s remarks to reporters outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, where she suggested that a hitman could allegedly be hired for P5,000 while arguing that not all killings should automatically be attributed to the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
“The question is being asked of her, ito ba ’yung presyo na iginawad ng ating Pangalawang Pangulo noong siya ay nagbanta laban sa Pangulo at sa kanyang pamilya? Is the price of the life of the President P5,000 only?” Ridon asked.
(The question is being asked of her, is this the price set by our Vice President when she threatened the President and his family? Is the life of the President worth only P5,000?)
“’Yan ba ’yung exact mechanism kung paano niya ginawa nung nagbanta siya sa Pangulo at sa kanyang pamilya?” he added.
(Is that the exact mechanism she used when she threatened the President and his family?)
For article I, the prosecution team presented three witnesses from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), led by Director Melvin Matibag. It was the NBI that carried out an investigation on the Duterte's death threats, which were made during a virtual press conference.
The witnesses told senator-judges that the respondent's statements were authentic and constituted "serious, actual, and real" threats against President Marcos and other members of the First Family.

Related Tags

Terry Ridon IMPEACHMENT Sara Duterte Gunman Hitman death threat
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