FIRST District Representative and reelectionist Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has declined to comment directly on the complaint for physical injuries and grave threats reportedly filed against him before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Speaking to the media in The Hague, Netherlands, on Saturday, Duterte addressed the allegations and the circulating CCTV footage showing the incident.
“To my fellow Davaoeños, you have seen another video. It’s been quite some time since this happened. Ah, it’s okay, the decision is still up to you as to who you will vote for as congressman in the first district. I will not interfere,” Duterte stated.
He added that he has not yet received a formal copy of the complaint and that his legal team is still verifying the authenticity of the video.
“My lawyer told me that until now, they are still authenticating where the video came from. It seems the filing of the testimony, the affidavit, was done on social media instead of with the fiscal. So, I cannot make a statement because we have not received any documents indicating a case has been filed against me,” Duterte said.
The complaint alleged violations of Article 265 (Less Serious Physical Injuries) and Article 282 (Grave Threats) of the Revised Penal Code.
The complainant stated in his sworn affidavit that the alleged assault occurred on February 23, a Sunday, at a bar in Davao City.
Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon confirmed the filing of the complaint. The complainant accused Duterte of threatening him with a knife and physically assaulting him for approximately two hours.
“He headbutted me on the head multiple times, and I was asking him for forgiveness for whatever wrong I might have done to him, but he kept headbutting my head and then threatened me again with a knife,” the complaint stated.
The complainant further alleged that Duterte turned off the bar’s CCTV system.
He also stated that he received P1,000 for each blow from Duterte. He explained that he did not initially seek medical attention or file a legal complaint due to fear.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) released a statement on Saturday, clarifying that it does not possess any CCTV footage related to the alleged incident. “The circulating videos online did not originate from the PNP, nor were they obtained or released by any PNP unit or personnel,” the PNP stated.
The PNP also denied any involvement in the dissemination of the complainant’s affidavit.
