Former Senate president Franklin has rejected Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense that her controversial assassination remarks are protected by the freedom of speech.
“We have a law that prohibits threatening another person by telling them, ‘I will kill you.’ That is punishable under our Revised Penal Code,” he said in a radio interview.
“Freedom of speech under our Constitution has limitations. You cannot invoke freedom of speech to threaten the entire country,” Drilon added.
Duterte posted bail at a court in Quezon City in connection with the grave threats case filed by public prosecutors.
In an online press conference in 2024, the vice president said she had instructed an assassin to kill President Bongbong Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself got killed.
Drilon also believes that the criminal case will not impact her separate impeachment trial, noting the distinct legal nature of both proceedings.
“As we have said, this impeachment trial is sui generis, a class of its own. It is not a court of law. It is not a criminal case. It is a political process,” he said.
“The penalty here, if found guilty, is not imprisonment but removal from public office and perpetual disqualification from public office,” Drilon, a lawyer by profession, continued.IMT
