DOJ Respects QC Court's Arrest Warrant Issuance Against Sara Duterte

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday said it respects the Quezon City (QC) court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant against Vice President Sara Duterte. “The Department respects the Court’s ruling and reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law,” it said in a statement. This came after the QC Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 98 found that there was probable cause to hold Duterte for trial and issued an arrest warrant against her. “Together with its supporting evidence, and after due consideration of the arguments raised by both parties in their oral arguments, the Court finds that there is probable cause to hold the accused for trial for the crimes charged in the Informations,” the court said. To recall, the DOJ filed three counts of grave threats against the vice president over her remarks that she hired an individual to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez, should an alleged plot against her succeed. Following this, Duterte filed a motion to quash on the ground of jurisdiction, arguing that she and other impeachable officers have limited procedural immunity while in office under the 1987 Constitution. The court held the oral arguments on Duterte’s motion in late August. Duterte had said her remarks were "maliciously taken out of logical context." The vice president’s alleged grave threats against the Marcoses and Romualdez are also the basis of one of the Articles of Impeachment against her in the ongoing trial before the Senate impeachment court. –NB, GMA News