Philippine court orders the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte for allegedly threatening to assassinate President Marcos Jr.

The Philippine court today ordered the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte on charges of publicly threatening to assassinate President Marcos Jr. with two others.

The arrest warrant was issued by the Quezon City Regional Court accusing Ms. Sara Duterte of publicly threatening to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the President's wife and then-House Speaker Mr. Martin Romualdez.

The lawyer representing Ms. Duterte denied all accusations, saying the Vice President would pay bail to be released while awaiting trial at the Quezon City Regional Court.

"She has no intention of avoiding the law and will continue to use every legal aid right she has," said lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim.

The charges stem from a threat that Ms. Duterte made during an online press conference in 2024. When the political conflict between the two sides became increasingly tense, she said she would hire assassins to assassinate Mr. Marcos and his wife, and Mr. Romualdez if she was murdered. Afterwards, the Vice President also warned that this threat was no joke.

She later explained that she did not threaten Mr. Marcos but only expressed concerns about her safety. These statements led to a criminal investigation and raised national security concerns.

Last May, the Philippine House of Representatives voted to impeach Ms. Duterte on charges of not transparently declaring assets, abusing national secret funds, and threatening President Marcos and his wife and Mr. Romualdez.

If convicted, Ms. Duterte could be permanently banned from holding positions in the state apparatus, and end her chances of running for president in 2028.

Mr. Marcos and Ms. Duterte once ran as a running mate in the 2022 election, when the country's two most powerful political families chose to cooperate with each other. However, this alliance quickly fractured and fell apart.

Vice President Sara Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Mr. Marcos's predecessor. Mr. Rodrigo Duterte was arrested last year on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and is currently detained in The Hague in the Netherlands, where he is scheduled to face trial on charges of crimes against humanity on November 30.

These charges are related to the notorious drug crackdown that left many people dead during Mr. Duterte's time in power. He denies allowing extrajudicial executions, but has repeatedly threatened to take the lives of suspects while in office.