Sara Duterte camp files urgent motion for TRO vs. grave threats charges

The camp of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has filed an urgent motion before the Supreme Court seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the grave threats case filed against her before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The motion was filed on Monday, September 7, after the filing of the charges on Friday, September 4, and Duterte posting bail on Saturday, September 5. Her arraignment is scheduled for Friday, September 11. "With the evident haste by which Petitioner's criminal prosecution continues to move, there is a real and present danger that the reliefs sought in Petitioner's Amended Petition - the restraint of criminal prosecution of an incumbent impeachable officer under the constitutional rule of limited procedural immunity, will be rendered moot and academic, if immediate injunctive relief is not now obtained," the motion read. "The imminent arraignment and pre-trial demonstrate that the criminal proceedings are not merely threatened but are actively and rapidly progressing, notwithstanding the serious and far-reaching jurisdictional and constitutional issues to be resolved. This would render nugatory the reliefs sought, and irreversibly deprive Petitioner and her office of the constitutional protection she seeks to be enforced by this petition," it added. The Department of Justice on August 11 filed grave threats charges against Duterte in connection with remarks she made in an online press conference in 2024. In the presser, Duterte said she had already talked to someone to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then Speaker Martin Romualdez if anything happened to her. The Vice President's camp on August 21 filed a motion for certiorari and prohibition against the informations filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, asking for an injunction on the cases and that they be rendered void. "As shown, Respondents' acts of investigating and indicting Petitioner in violation of the Vice President's limited procedural immunity from suit during tenure and the clear provisions of the 1987 Constitution constitute urgent and compelling grounds for this Honorable Court to immediately restrain further action thereon by issuing Petitioner's sought TRO and/or Writ of Preliminary Mandatory Injunction. Immediate injunctive relief is imperative to prevent Respondents from further circumventing this constitutional immunity, interfering with the Vice President's performance of her office, and irreparably damaging our tripartite system of government," the motion read. "This Honorable Court has consistently held that injunctive relief may issue upon showing that: (a) there exists a clear and unmistakable right to be protected; (b) this right is directly threatened by an act sought to be enjoined; (c) the invasion of the right is material and substantial; and (d) there is an urgent and paramount necessity for the writ to prevent serious and irreparable damage," it added. The Duterte camp filed another motion on September 4, asking the SC to order the recall of the warrants. A spokesman for Duterte said she would attend the arraignment "as required by law." —NB, GMA News