SC receives disbarment complaint vs. Sara Duterte over remarks on remains of Marcos Sr.

The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it has received an anonymous complaint seeking the disbarment of Vice President Sara Duterte following her remarks on the exhumation of the remains of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. 

“Yes, the SC received an anonymous complaint for disbarment against VP Sara,” said SC spokesperson Camille Ting in a message to GMA News Online. “It was for her remarks that she will exhume the remains of former President Marcos, Sr.” 

“It was received early this month. We have to wait for the SC’s action on this matter,” the SC official added. 

To recall, Duterte earlier said that she threatened Senator Imee Marcos that she would dig up the body of former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and throw it into the West Philippine Sea (WPS) if attacks against her do not stop. 

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. refused to comment on the vice president’s statement. 

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla then said that the Department of Justice is looking into the possible legal consequences of Duterte’s remarks which breached some “moral principles.”

According to Chino Gaston’s report in “24 Oras,” another disbarment case was already filed against Duterte in 2011, when she was still the mayor of Davao City, for punching a sheriff. 

Duterte punched the  sheriff for spearheading the demolition order on informal settlers in the city. 

“I'm not very informed about what happened in that case, but I know that there were a lot of pleadings and procedure that happened so 'pag disbarment case, it's really on a case to case basis,” said Ting. 

The sheriff did not file a complaint against Duterte, but she was reprimanded by the Office of the Ombudsman following a complaint filed by the Sheriff’s Confederation of the Philippines. 

Duterte issued a public apology a year after the incident, but she noted that she already personally said sorry to the sheriff. 

“It will not happen again and it was an unfortunate incident,” she said in her apology back in 2012. 

Meanwhile, the latest remarks Duterte against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos may be a ground for her disbarment.

Justice Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes said that there was “definitely a criminal liability” after Duterte said that she had contracted someone to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez, if an alleged plot against her succeeded. 

“Napakataas ng antas ng conduct na hinihingi mula sa mga members of the bar or lawyers na practicing,” Andres said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(The level of conduct required from members of the Bar or practicing lawyers is very high.) 

“'Yung posibilidad na 'yun ay maaari ding mangyari na magkaroon siya ng disbarment pero hindi ito manggagaling ‘yun sa effort ng Department of Justice. IBP (Integrated Bar of the Philippines) po ‘yan at Supreme Court ang gagalaw,” he added. 

(It’s possible that Duterte may face disbarment but that won’t come from the efforts of the DOJ. The IBP and the Supreme Court would be the ones to act on it.) 

Aside from the high court or the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the rules of court also provides that a disbarment case can be filed through motu propio or the SC can look into the behavior of a lawyer. 

GMA Integrated News has reached out to Duterte’s camp for comment. —NB/KBK, GMA Integrated News