ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the dismissed grave threats complaint she filed against former President Rodrigo Duterte before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office in October 2023.
Castro along with her legal counsels, Rico Domingo and Tony La Viña, filed the petition for review before the DOJ in Manila on Monday, February 5.
"Hindi tayo nasisiyahan sa naging desisyon ng Prosecutor's Office sa Quezon City na dinismiss ang ating kinaso kay dating president Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Nakikita natin na talagang merong elements ng grave threats itong talagang sinabi ni dating presidente Duterte against sa akin doon sa kaniyang program. Hinihiling natin sa DOJ na i-review ang naging desisyon ng Prosecutor's Office sa Quezon City," she told reporters in an interview.
In its resolution dated January 9, the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office junked the grave threats complaint filed by the congresswoman due to insufficient evidence to prove that Duterte threatened her life during a program in Sonshine Media Network International.
"The way or the manner by which the respondent uttered/stated the subject threatening remarks/statements, on the assumption that they were uttered and accurately quoted and/or depicted by the complainant, most particularly the words/phrases used by the respondent in conveying his message, do not convincingly establish that indeed respondent intended them to be taken seriously and that they were deliberately made for the purpose of creating in the mind of the complainant the belief that the threats will be carried into effect," it earlier said.
Domingo believes that the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office did not demonstrate fairness in issuing the dismissal resolution.
"Mukhang hindi patas ang pagkakatingin ng investigative prosectors sa pagkakatingin niya sa mga facts dito sa complaint affidavit ni Cong. Castro. Bakit hindi patas? Because one of them is that binigyan ng potential depensa ang investigative prosectors ang nahahabla, iyon ang nagpapatunay na hindi patas ang tingin niya," he said.
Castro's criminal complaint, according to the lawyer, is considered a litmus test for the judicial and prosecution.
"Ating binibigyan ng litmus test ang ating judicial and prosecution kung sila ay magbibigay ng karamptang remedyo, kung tayo ay bibigyan ng ganitong klaseng treatment ng gobyerno lalong-lalo na ni dating presidente Rodrigo Duterte [....] Ito ay litmus test sa katarungan ng mga mamamayan at ano ang remedyo bibigay ng gobyerno dito sa kaso," Domingo said.
