Prosecutors junk assault, disobedience raps vs Sara

The Quezon City Prosecutor's Office has dismissed the criminal cases filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) against Vice President Sara Duterte and the chief of her security detail over an incident at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMCC) last year.

- By BELLA CARIASO

In a 13-page resolution signed by assistant prosecutor Criscelyn Carayugan-Lugo, the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office cited the failure of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to provide "prima facie evidence" to convict Duterte.

"The complaint for violation of Article 148 (direct assault), Article 151 (disobedience to authority) and Article 286 (grave coercion), all of the Revised Penal Code, against respondents Vice President Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio and Col. Raymundo Dante Petina Lachica, is recommended to be dismissed for failure to sustain a findig of prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction,” the ruling read.