THE Quezon City prosecutor has dismissed the charges of grave coercion and direct assault filed against Vice-President (VP) Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio, along with her security and protection group, in connection with a November 2024 incident involving Ms. Duterte’s chief of staff at medical facilities.
In a resolution dated Jan. 17, Assistant City Prosecutor Criscelyn B. Caryugan-Lugo dismissed the charges of direct assault, disobedience to authority, and grave coercion against Ms. Duterte and others.
The prosecutor cited a “failure to sustain a finding of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction.”
The case was filed by officers of the Quezon City Police District following a commotion at the House of Representatives and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) during the transfer of the Vice-President’s chief of staff, Zuleika T. Lopez.
The complainants alleged the head of the Vice-Presidential Security and Protection Group physically pushed and assaulted a police doctor who was assigned to assist Ms. Lopez during her transfer to the VMMC.
However, the prosecutor ruled that the allegations were “not supported by evidence,” noting that none of the witnesses corroborated the police doctor’s claims of being subjected to “attack, physical force, intimidation, resistance, disobedience, violence, or threats.” — Chloe Mari A. Hear
