Philippine VP Sara Duterte charged with 3 counts of grave threats

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte was charged with three counts of grave threats on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, in a Quezon City courtroom, a criminal case stemming from her 2024 statements about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family. The filing by the Department of Justice (DOJ) adds a new legal dimension to her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, which entered its 14th day on the same date.

The charges were filed at approximately 1:30 p.m. with the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, according to DOJ spokesman Polo Martinez. The case originates from a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) criminal complaint filed in February 2025. It is based on a late-night virtual press briefing on November 23, 2024, during which Duterte stated she had arranged for someone to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez if she were killed first. Duterte reiterated at the time that she was not joking.

The DOJ dismissed a separate complaint of inciting to sedition that was part of the original NBI filing. Martinez stated that prosecutors found prima facie evidence to proceed with the grave threats...