Palace tells Sara Duterte: Defend with proof, not fallacies

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Malacañang hit back at Vice President Sara Duterte on Saturday, telling her to recognize the flaws and fallacies in her arguments after she accused the Marcos administration of being “desperate” to bring her down.

In a Viber message to reporters, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro urged Duterte to address the accusations against her with evidence rather than relying on fallacies in defending herself.

“Maturuan sana ang Bise Presidente na matuto siyang sumagot nang may ebidensiya sa mga inaakusa sa kanya bago magturo ng iba,” Castro said in a Viber message to reporters.

(May the Vice President learn to answer the accusations against her with evidence before pointing fingers at others.)

Castro was responding to Duterte's accusation, which she made while denying allegations that she knew and received money from Rodolfo Gracioso Jr., a former policeman who served as a security officer for then-House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

The Vice President dismissed the claims as another media stunt and a desperate move by the administration to bring her down and breathe life into the “faltering impeachment case” against her.

“The desperation of the administration to bring me down, push for Charter Change, prevent the 2028 elections, and cling to power is becoming increasingly diabolical,” Duterte said.

Castro said Duterte should familiarize herself with logical fallacies and improve how she responds to the allegations.

“Alamin niya ang definition ng red herring at ad hominem fallacies para malaman niya ang kamalian niya sa pakikipag-argumento,” she said.

(May she learn the definition of red herring and ad hominem fallacies so she can understand the flaws in her arguments.)

“Uulit-ulitin natin para tumimo sa isipan (We will repeat this again and again so it sticks in her mind): She needs to level up her defending skills so she can appear credible, if only for once,” she added.

In an exclusive interview with GMA News, Gracioso alleged that he delivered suitcases containing cash to Duterte, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte on Velasco's instructions.

Gracioso estimated that he had delivered a total of more than P2 billion to the Vice President.

For his part, Velasco also denied the allegations against him, asserting that they were completely baseless.

“The former Speaker of the House's record of service in the government is untainted with corruption and his wife's benevolence is widely known, leaving no basis for the illegal allegations now being suggested,” said Velasco's spokesperson, Atty. Rowell Ilagan, in a statement.

The National Bureau of Investigation said it has begun its probe into Gracioso's claims. — MCG, GMA News