Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte Faces Arrest Warrant in Grave Threats Case

MANILA, Philippines – A Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has issued a warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte in connection with her grave threats case, her lawyer confirmed on Friday, September 4. “Today, the Quezon City RTC has issued a warrant of arrest against the Vice President. Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,” said Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim. Grave threat is a bailable offense. Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson Raphael Martinez said the court set the bail at P120,000 for each count of grave threats. In a statement, he also announced that the Quezon City RTC Branch 98 denied Duterte’s motion to defer or recall the warrants against her. “In the same Resolution, the Court found probable cause to hold the accused for trial on all three counts of Grave Threats and ordered the issuance of a warrant of arrest,” Martinez told reporters. “The Department respects the Court’s ruling and reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law,” he added. In August, the justice department filed three counts of grave threats against Duterte in relation to her alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife Liza and cousin, ex-House speaker Martin Romualdez. This followed complaints filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against Duterte after her infamous midnight press conference on November 23, 2024. She told her supporters not to worry about her safety, saying she had already “talked to someone” who would assassinate Marcos and his family if she were killed. Duterte asserted and repeated at the time that she was not joking. These grave threats allegations are also part of the four articles of impeachment against Duterte in her ongoing impeachment trial. Apart from filing the motion to defer the warrant, the Vice President’s camp also sought oral hearings as they they argued that Duterte cannot face a criminal case because she is an impeachable official. “If a sitting Vice President may be indicted and prosecuted, then other incumbent impeachable officers such as the Ombudsman, members of the Constitutional Commissions, Supreme Court Justices, and even the President, may also be indicted and prosecuted,” Lim said on August 13. Several legal experts, including Father Joaquin Bernas, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, have said the country’s second-in-command is not immune from suit, unlike the president. So did the court decision settle this dispute? “The Court denied the ‘Motion to Defer the Issuance of or Recall Arrest Warrant and Quash the Information’ filed by the accused [for lack of merit]. The case shall now proceed to trial,” Martinez said. This is a developing story. – Rappler.com