QC court junks Sara Duterte’s bid to inhibit judge

MANILA, Philippines — A Quezon City court has denied the Motion for Inhibition or Voluntary Recusal filed by Vice President Sara Duterte in her pending grave threats case. In an order dated September 14, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 rejected Duterte’s plea for "utter lack of merit." Duterte’s legal team submitted the motion via electronic mail on September 10, alleging that the court showed "manifest partiality, bias, and favoritism." The defense argued that the court assisted the prosecution in establishing probable cause by directing them to submit digital evidence omitted from the original filing. The defense contended that the omission of digital evidence should have been fatal to the prosecution's case, asserting that the court should have determined probable cause solely based on the initial records and dismissed the charges immediately. Additionally, Duterte’s camp alleged that undue preference was given to the prosecution on August 17, and argued that they were deprived of time to comment on the submission. However, RTC Branch 98 rejected the claims, emphasizing that judicial independence and the presumption of regularity govern the court's actions. "All told, absent any clear and convincing evidence of actual bias, prejudgment, or an improper connection that reasonably calls the undersigned's impartiality into question, the undersigned sees no cogent reason for her to inhibit or recuse herself from hearing these cases," the court ruled. In a statement, Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said that the vice president will exercise all legal remedies. “The Vice President will exercise all available remedies. We also received the court’s order requiring both parties to strictly comply with the sub judice rule and to refrain from publicly discussing the merits of the case,” Lim said. “We will continue to comply, consistent with the Vice President’s respect for the rule of law,” he added. The grave threats charge stemmed from the threats uttered by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and detained former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. The threats Duterte made during online press conferences in October and December 2024 also formed part of Article IV of the articles of impeachment against her. RTC Branch 98 issued the arrest warrant on September 4, and Duterte posted bail the following day.