MANILA — Malacañang on Saturday advised Vice President Sara Duterte to “level up” her defense and support her responses to allegations with evidence.
“Uulit-ulitin natin para tumimo sa isipan (Let’s repeat it over and over so it sinks in). She needs to level up her defending skills so she can appear credible, if only for once,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a statement.
Castro’s remarks came in response to Duterte’s claims that the Marcos administration is becoming “desperate” and “increasingly diabolical” in allegedly trying to bring her down, push for charter change, prevent the 2028 elections, and cling to power.
Duterte made the statement, as she dismissed as “political maneuvering, propaganda, (and) manufactured distractions” the allegations that she received money from Police Corporal Rodulfo Gracioso Jr., who served as security head of former House of Representatives Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, between 2018 and 2022.
Duterte said the latest claim against her is “nothing more than another media stunt, an attempt to breathe life into a faltering impeachment case.”
READ: Sara Duterte denies receiving ₱2-B cash delivery from Velasco’s ex-aide
Mistakes in arguing
Castro, however, said Duterte should learn how to respond with evidence to the accusations against her before teaching others.
“She should learn the definitions of red herring and ad hominem fallacies so she can recognize her mistakes in arguing,” she said.
Castro also maintained that the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court in Duterte’s case, has its own constitutional mandate.
She noted that the conduct of an impeachment trial falls squarely within the Senate’s jurisdiction.
“This will be the real scenario. Our Constitution will be rendered futile if the Filipino people begin to defend acts of corruption of their nefarious political idols, or if they normalize the unlawful execution of innocent people under the guise of ‘dispensing justice,’” Castro said.
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