Philippine court orders arrest of VP Sara Duterte on threat charges

A Philippine court on Friday, September 4, 2026, ordered the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte on three counts of grave threats related to her 2024 remarks about assassinating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and a former House speaker. The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 issued the warrant and set bail at 120,000 Philippine pesos (approximately $1,900) for each count. The Department of Justice said the warrant clears the way for the criminal case to proceed to trial. The charges stem from an online press conference in November 2024, during which Duterte stated she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed. She later said she was not threatening the president but expressing concern for her own safety. The Department of Justice filed the complaint in August after prosecutors found a high quantum of proof. Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said in a statement that the vice president would not evade the warrant. “Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,” Lim said.