Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday posted bail after an order was issued for her arrest the previous day on charges that she publicly threatened to arrange the assassination of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and two other people.
The vice president, who has denied the allegations, showed a court order lifting the arrest warrant and said her lawyers instructed her to keep a copy on hand. She urged journalists to surround her on the way to her car, because she did not feel safe.
“If possible please go with me, because I do not feel safe with all these police personnel who are harassing those at my home, harassing me since 2023,” Duterte said. “What does this administration really want to do with me?”
Photo: Reuter
Paul Lawrence Lim, one of her attorneys, said court staff took Duterte’s fingerprints and she posted 360,000 pesos (US$5,742) bail for three counts of grave threats.
Duterte would fight the charges, he said.
“She has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,” he added.
The case is seen as part of a high-stakes political showdown pitting Duterte against Marcos. A conviction may permanently disqualify her from holding public office and prohibit her from seeking the presidency in 2028, when Marcos’s six-year term ends.
The charges stem from an alleged threat Duterte made during a 2024 online news conference, during which she said she would have Marcos, his wife and then-Philippine House of Representatives speaker Martin Romualdez killed by an assassin if she was killed as their political disputes escalated.
The vice president warned during the event that her threat was not a joke.
Duterte later said she was expressing concern for her own safety and not threatening Marcos, as the remarks set off a criminal investigation and national security concerns.
The House of Representatives, which is dominated by Marcos’ allies, voted overwhelmingly in May to impeach Duterte over allegations of unexplained wealth, misuse of confidential state funds and the online news conference threats.
The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened her televised trial in July.
Marcos and Duterte were running mates in the 2022 elections in an alliance that combined two of the country’s most formidable political dynasties.
Marcos is the son of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Sr, who held the office from the 1960s to the 1980s — a period of repression and martial law.
The vice president is the daughter of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested last year on orders of the International Criminal Court and detained in The Hague.
Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to face a trial beginning in late November over alleged crimes against humanity connected to a brutal anti-drugs crackdowns that left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead.
He has denied authorizing extrajudicial killings, but repeatedly threatened suspects with death while in office.
Sara Duterte previously criticized the Marcos administration for surrendering her father to a foreign court, which currently has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.
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